MY TAKE ON WHY PEOPLE JUST LEAVE

`````Migraines suck; I'm not talking about those ones on the television commercials where the woman takes some over the counter medication and goes on with her life. I spent my weekend with my head in a bucket and lost seven pounds just so that I could spin my sleeping rotation around. Anyways, I don't want to whine. Others may be in a chair or be forced to wear a burqua. I live with a chronic pain condition and have a shift-work sleep disorder which has changed my life.

``````I had to do a couple of day shifts so that I could requalify on CPR and get my certification for the AED . It got me thinking again on the comment that people no longer seem willing to stop and help at accident scenes as it came up in discussion today.

`````I have stopped two times on almost exactly the same stretch of road. The one time the road was a sheet of ice. I spotted a vehicle which had flipped over onto it's side, hit a pole and spun completely around. I stopped my car and I could hardly walk upright due to the very poor condition of the road. I could hear screaming coming from the inside of the car. While I have dealt with some ugly sights at work, I was preparing for the worst---maybe a car with kids inside. Luckily, it contained a very healthy, but confused woman. I had to climb onto the side of the vehicle, open the door and get her out.

````` My thanks? One year later I was driving through that town when I was pulled over by a police officer who thought that I looked familiar. I wasn't doing anything wrong. Yes indeed---I was familiar. I was the person who kept the woman in my car until that very police officer showed up and took the particulars of the accident.

`````A few years later I was on the same stretch of road and there was a man on a motor cycle a head of me. Out of no where, a car hit him. I slammed on the brakes and managed to stop as I always give riders on bikes more than the two car lengths recommended. I ran up and began to warn the man against moving, as I feared spinal cord injury. We had been doing fifty miles per hour at the time of impact and he had flipped a couple of times. I had fully expected to find a dead person. I thought that he might be going into shock as he was getting pale and shaky. His wife had been in the vehicle behind me so I was also trying to talk to her in a normal tone of voice to keep her calm.

````` After the ambulance removed the victim, the lone police officer asked if I would mind staying until the scene was cleared up so that he could take my witness statement. Every single person in the long line of cars stared at me as they went by. I've also gotten interviewed by the insurance agent at my house after my graveyard shift and by the victim's lawyer. I was savvy enough to write up the statement the minute I got home that night, as I know our memory changes. However, it is going to court. For my help? I've been asked questions such as "Was I perhaps playing with my stereo or cellphone" As I was a witness and in no part a contributer to the accident, this is an ignorant question. Besides, had I not been paying attention, I wouldn't have hit the brakes in time and I would have run over his client.

````` You hear stories more and more about people turning around and leaving the scene of an accident. My witness statement verified that the man on the bike did nothing wrong and was a good driver. I stopped to give the man help. I do not expect a reward. What I don't expect is undue consequences.

`````Sadly, I know somebody who is a top trained OR nurse. She will no longer stop for fear of being sued; good Samaritain Act or no. The proliferation of camera phones has made the paranoia worse. How something may look from a distance while filmed can differ from what actually went on. I guess I will have to wait and see how my day in court goes. I loathe public speaking. Wish me well. And yes...I heard the man had pelvic injuries but thankfully no spinal injuries although it's going to be a long road to recovery.