I just saw a car wreck.. Options

[libertie]

I was driving home towards my mom's house and I honestly can't tell you HOW it all happened because it all went so fast. When the cars both stopped moving, the truck slid over into a ditch, upside down, and this little car was just completely demolished. I saw it happen and stopped far enough back to stay out of it, but there were no other cars around so I immediately stopped and ran out of the car to check on them. I couldn't get into either vehicle and no one was coming out of either one so I started yanking on the little car's door while calling 911. I was completely frantic and upset because there was nothing I could do, so I waited for the sirens and just kept pulling on the door. Finally I got the car door open and the guy inside sorta half turned his head to look at me (at least he was kind of awake). There was blood everywhere and I saw that he'd hit his head pretty hard, so I calmed myself down and ran to my car to grab my purse. I'd gotten this stupid travel first aid kit with a bunch of band-aids for easter last year, but more importantly it had a ton of gauze in it. I ripped every single one of those packages open for his head to make him stop bleeding. >.<

Finally the ambulance showed up and I'd been trying to get into the truck while still talking to the guy in the car to make sure he was okay. The paramedics told me that the guy with the head wound might have bled to death if he had waited any longer, and the guy in the truck was okay aside from a possible concussion. I called my mom at one point, but I was crying too much to explain to her what happened. It was just WEIRD. I stopped at my house in Arkadelphia rather than finishing the drive to Texarkana, for obvious reasons, I need to calm down. My thoughts are really jumbled right now and I know I'm not explaining this very well at all, but yeah.. hi cb, btw.

[brooklyneast05]

this isn't really the same thing but

anyway i saw something similar to this once. it was rainy and someone had run off the interstate. the person had flown out of their car was dead on the side of the road and only one cop was there so i guess it JUST happened. i felt really weird the rest of the day.

it's probably 20 times worse for you, but i had a really weird worked up feeling that didn't go away for the rest of the day.

[kryogenix]

Damn, Dani causing car accidents cause guys were too busy checking her out instead of driving, and then nurses him back to health.

[libertie]

Yeah, I have a strange numb feeling right now knowing that the guy I was helping could have died. I don't even want to think that the small amount of gauze I pulled out of my purse might have helped save his life, because I'd rather think that he was well enough to wait for the paramedics and maybe I just helped a little bit. >.< But opening the car door and looking at the guy was the most chilling experience I've ever had.

[emberfly]

That man would have died if I had been in your place. My limbs were shaking just from reading that story.

[libertie]

Yeah, you can bet that I never stopped shaking and crying from the moment I got out of my car until about 20 minutes after I made it home.

[Maccabee]

Are you happy you were there?

[libertie]

Honestly, if I could just erase the incident altogether, I would. I never want to see anything like that again. I texted everyone I know in this area telling them to be careful because it's pouring down rain today. But knowing that it happened and knowing there were no other cars around.. I am definitely glad I was there. Obviously neither of them was in a position to call out for help, and someone needed to. I'm glad the paramedics showed up in time.

[emberfly]

Honestly, if I could just erase the incident altogether, I would. I never want to see anything like that again. I texted everyone I know in this area telling them to be careful because it's pouring down rain today. But knowing that it happened and knowing there were no other cars around.. I am definitely glad I was there. Obviously neither of them was in a position to call out for help, and someone needed to. I'm glad the paramedics showed up in time.

Honestly, If I was an adult and had gauze in my car, I would gladly replace you. That would be such an awesome thing to tell people... and it would actually be true.

Once the weirdness goes away, it would probably make you feel SOOOO happy to know that you were there and it was all because of you that that man stayed alive.

I definitely wouldn't feel "weird" if I was in that incident. I would freak out during it, but after knowing that everything turned out okay, I would get a sick adrenaline rush.

[Maccabee]

Thats a pretty life changing experience. Im sure the people in those cars were grateful that you were there. Im sure they were thinking, thank god for people like this. 70% percent of people would have probably driven off and not even called 911.

[emberfly]

Thats a pretty life changing experience. Im sure the people in those cars were grateful that you were there. Im sure they were thinking, thank god for people like this. 70% percent of people would have probably driven off and not even called 911.

I doubt this.

[libertie]

I certainly hope that most people wouldn't have just driven off. I would like to know that I did what any other human being would have done in this situation.

[Maccabee]

But what makes you a good person is that you did this when others wouldn't have.

[-DressYourEyelid...]

that's terrible!
i'm been in a car wreck before. a family friend was paralyzed. it was in the middle of the night and the highway was oddly abandoned. one person drove by, saw the wreck and called 911.he helped slow the bleeding in my mother's friend (susan) and helped everyone else out (we were all is horrible condition). my mother's friend would have surely died if he hadn't done so.

you did a great thing :)

[karmakiller]

I doubt this.

I live on a really busy road and there is a car accident at least every other month. You'd be surprised how many people will drive away... for the most part it's because the road is posted at 55mph and a lot of the accidents are more than just fender benders. No one wants to be a witness to an accident nowadays (especially if there's a lawsuit.)

In June when I was t-boned, everyone who saw the accident left. We in the middle of an intersection and cars drove around us. There was only one person who stopped, and talked to me because I was having a severe panic attack and the passenger in my car was hurt.

[datass]

its also dangerous to slow down and check on something while you're driving really fast.

i think its so nice how you helped the man. i'm sure later on when you look back at this, you'll feel proud and glad you've saved a man's life (or at least tried and gave your best).

[Teesa]

oh wow, i'm so so so amazed by what you did dani. that was really brave.

and wes, dee is right. in psych, it's called diffusion of responsibility or the bystander effect. sad and scary to think about, but true :/

[luvnhate]

Wow, you were really brave! I would've been just frozen in place the whole time, probably not able to function.

was it like a regular truck or an eighteen wheeler?

But wow that's amazing, the guy lived, that is seriously life-changing.

[libertie]

Oh, it was a regular truck.. I've seen wrecks with 18-wheelers before, those can be pretty devastating. =\ I'm glad it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Honestly, if I had imagined something like this happening before, I probably would have thought the same thing as a lot of you.. That I wasn't strong enough to act in that situation, that I would probably freeze up and not be able to do anything. I didn't really feel like I had time to think though, and I was pretty emotional throughout the whole thing.. But I guess you never know how you'll react until it happens.

[Mikeplyts]

Oh man, that was really brave of you Dani! I would've helped if I were in the situation, since I know what it feels like to watch someone die. >_>

[karmakiller]

I agree, Dani, you were pretty brave. Those moments come down to instinct.