Off-duty cop shocked by bystanders' actions at horrific crash

a reply to: Sremmos80

Your suggestion is operating under the assumption that I meant that everyone goes into shock instead of action in a crisis situation. I know that, personally to be an untrue statement as I have been the individual in a crisis situation that both acted as a director for others' actions on multiple occasions. I've been that way for as long as I can remember. I have been in situations where an accident has occurred and been the one to basically snap people out of their shocked states to do things to remedy the situation. Not everybody shuts down but a lot of people do based on my experiences.

I would say that most of us who do move during a crisis are more than likely very used to crisis for whatever reason. My home life was frequently a never ending crisis. I got used to crisis. I'd say that we are the minority in this.

I live on a rural road and my house is maybe 100 yards from the road itself. There is a curve to the road and one night my girlfriend and I were awoken to a horn blaring nonstop. My uncle lives across the street and it woke him up as well, because I came outside as he was coming out. A drunk driver had flipped his SUV in the ditch right up at the road in front of the house, and apparently this caused the horn button to become depressed or something.

We were the only ones on the scene and personally I did not want to even look in the vehicle, as I could see nobody was moving. Even though I did not wish to be involved we were the only ones there. So of course we called 911 and went to see what we could do. The first thing was to check pulses, and there was nothing. We couldn't have gotten anyone out had we wanted to anyway.

Well we are walking around the vehicle as the first responders show up, and we find a guy lying probably 40 feet away in the grass. We let the professionals handle it at that point, and honestly I wouldn't have known what to do had someone been alive in the vehicle to begin with. I suppose I would have tried to help them escape, as that is common sense, but dealing with injuries is not something I would have liked to attempt. This occurred before I went into the military so I didn't even have the basic first aid training they give you there.

So it is possible that some bystanders just don't know what to do. But like I said, if you see someone trapped in a vehicle or something it should be almost instinct to try and help them get out at the very least. Or maybe comfort them if nothing can be done, waiting for help to arrive. I came upon one other accident where the first responders had yet to arrive, and there were probably five people who were passing by who actually stopped and helped out. When I got out of my car there were a few kids that these people had sat down in a row, apparently they had taken them out of the car, and they did not appear to be severely injured. I don't remember what else was going on, but I remember how many people stopped to help. And when I was walking back to my car since there was nothing I could do, there were people who had stopped behind me who were asking me if they needed to go up there and help.

So maybe it has to do with the area and what the people are like, but I do not like to think that so many people are just so clueless that they wouldn't try to do something. I mean anything at all if there is anything to be done.

a reply to: nighthawk1954

Everyone hates to see a train wreck or car crash...but they just can't help staring...sad.

People here what to see pictures of people burned to death??? Sounds like the people that want to see pictures of dead kids at Sandy Hook!

I picture is a picture... but to be at scene of a person burning to death IS NOT a pretty picture...I have done this more than once ..once we arrive at the scene...we pray to God we are in time.... what will be the first thing that tells us is the smell... anybody ever smell burning flesh????
And you know your to late.

Well the policeman was pretty adamant that the bystanders filming knew there were people in the car, didn't have to tell one woman filming to get out of the way. When there were no paramedics or firemen there to help, those people filming knew what their responsibilities were. It's not that everyone is like that, but when all bar a couple at the scene tried to help, that's a hard indictment on some of mankind, sad.

originally posted by: Sremmos80

originally posted by: ScientiaFortisDefendit
I keep one of those aerosol can fire extinguishers in my vehicle. I would have grabbed it the first time he asked, if not sooner.

People suck.

So where in this post do you talk about the people filming?
I responded with a question, asking if they suck for not having a fire extinguisher.
Since that was the only thing in your post besides the people suck part

Stop trying to turn this thread into a troll convention.

a reply to: g146541

www.firerescue1.com... is a VERY reliable source! They post what is happening no bull crap.

I carry an extinguisher mounted just under the front seat. No hassle always right where I can grab it. Once you have had a vehicle burn up with a bunch of stuff in it you will too. A match turns into a huge loss. In this case I could have actually helped and I do not remember the last time I recorded anything with my camera on my phone. This zombie ridden society is disgusting. Rubber necking in Dallas is absolutely horrible. If there is an accident the people across the hwy will slow down traffic to a halt rubber necking the crash.

They even call it rubber necking on the news here. That is disgusting. That needs to fall under Texas's improper photography law. Not to mention failing to respond should be against the law. If you are filming you aren't assisting. I know in other states its against the law to not assist.

I'm going to S&F thi thread only because that the real problem lies in the growth o our communities as a whole nation. Think about for a moment.....

EXAMPLE: I am on a busy street, and a car rolls over an catches fire. 25+ people witness the seen. A woman/or man; doesn't matter, just a adult with a child in the rear seat are about to burn alive. 99.9% of the witnesses break out hire phones for vids and pics, but the one hero comes to the rescue and saves the adult by breaking their arm to get them out of a pinned position, but loses the chance to save the child.

Pure tragedy. But when the emotional stress hits the parent, pissed that nobody saved his/her child, retaliation and accountability shows the dark side. No thinking of how grateful they are to be alive, but that person broke my arm?,!!!! They must pay. They saved me, but not my child..... They must pay.

As the attorneys and laywers pour in. This poor individual that did the right thing may face bankruptcy and potential jail time.

This does not surprise me one bit that people react in such matters in the modern world. I wouldn't worry, the human race doesn't have long any how.

Now don't get me wrong, I help on sence every time if I am in that kind of situation, with my military, life, rescue, training throughout 20 years plus. Then again, most in this world, just don't care about anything

a reply to: AK907ICECOLD
I was 18 when I joined our Vol. Fire dept in 1973, it was two years later on the Merrit Parkway ,route 15 here in CT. when I was about four cars back when a serious accident happened 3 cars ..1 car engine compartment on fire ...I grabbed my extinguisher a 20 powder ...The driver was in bad shape ...knocked out ... no air bags our shoulder straps back then... 3 other motorist stopped to help ...I had my FD tea shirt on he saw I had the extinguisher ...he asked how can I help...I asked if he had a tire iron...he said yes and gave it to me with in 1 min. While the other to people were trying to look after the driver the best they could till we could gain entry... I poped the hood ,knocking down the fire ..if not this guy would have been dead......no cell phones back then had to wait till some one could get off and call the States.. in the mean time...I went back to my car and set up road flares... myself and 2 other guy were able to pry open the door with tire irons ..we able to to remove him from the car and stabilize him till help came.
I was awarded a commendation for my efforts do to the by standers and the state police ....now the kicker!

While in a rush to set up the flares ,one slipped and a received 2nd degree burn that put me on the same ambulance with the guy We saved.

No victim, no crime.

I think the cell phone is a reality filter. The world doesn't seem so real when you're looking at it through the lens of your cell phone.

a reply to: g146541

If you use Chrome then it has it's own version of flash embedded into it but if you mean youtube still plays that's because they have moved to an HTML5 player.

It's sad and it's a worldwide thing, we had a major road accident in the UK where people died and everyone driving past were all videoing it from their phones. It's sad but I do think there is a form of disassociation that happens to some people perhaps as a method of dealing with the horrible scene in front of them.

originally posted by: VictorVonDoom
Just wait. Soon you'll see a story where there is an accident and people record themselves stealing from the victims.

fatal Houston crash. groceries stolen. here, real close to OP crash

abc13.com...

a reply to: nighthawk1954

When one person recording was so close to the car, it can't be claimed she didn't help because she feared for her safety. It's clear she simply didn't care. Utterly sick.

Okay, I don't care what excuse anyone wants to use or what rationalization someone wants to use for this disgusting predatory behavior but I am getting from this that they watched someone burn to death?

Well... If I had been there, one thing WOULD have happened .

There would simply be a number of smart phones tossed into the fire with everything else. If it's out, it's going in the fire if I can reach it.

Text that to someone on the replacement.

a reply to: nighthawk1954


WHOOOOA everyone needs to relax- THIS IS WHAT VIRTUALLY ALWAYS HAPPENS IN THESE KINDS OF SCENARIOS.
It's called the Bystander-effect, and it's one of the most consistent, and universal behaviors exhibited in humans.

en.wikipedia.org...

What I'm actually disturbed by, is this cop's testimony. All emergency personnel learn about this sociological phenomenon throughout their training- this cop is full of BS.
And now, the few (would-be) exceptions to this the rule, have been terrorized so effectively by government that the legal liability is too great a risk.

Praise Government.

a reply to: ltinycdancerg
Sorry to to disagree with but....me being 59 .... in the 70's t0 90's people always went out of their way to help!
Sometime risking themselves. I have seen it many times, even where I live to this day it happens.

a reply to: nighthawk1954

I'm not surprised that the people didn't do something. As a whole, society seems to have the mentality "oh, it's not my battle, sucks to be that guy". The only (and I mean, the only) reason why I would not stop to help in a car fire is because I don't know how to save someone from one. If it involved possible injury to themselves, then most won't attempt it either. Finally, people love drama; nothing means more to their lives than being the annoying reporter on the scene of the crime, to claim the "I saw it first" victory (implied sarcasm).

Also, even with the "Good Samaritan" laws, you can still get into some nasty legal trouble. For example, me & my Dad witnessed a car crash along with one other witness - Both parties were at fault, but the person that ran the red was clearly at fault. Well, my Dad, being the honorable person he was, told his story to the officer when he arrived; just him & the other person came forward as a witness.

To make a long story short, he almost got sued by the person clearly at fault, because his story didn't match up to the driver's story. We couldn't make any trip plans, because there was always the chance that they would call back and ask him to be in court.

-fossilera

EDIT: I thought that there were laws out there saying that you could be held responsible if you witness an accident or crime and didn't report it (at least here in Michigan, you witness something, you're supposed to report it...Obviously, not everyone does.

Here's a rant.

I was only about 11 or so when I saw a car go off the bridge where I used to live. Now, I had been minding my own business walking to a buddy's house because I couldn't go to school. I had gotten a hard hit to the head and lost my ability to read and write for about 3 years but I could still solve math problems that would give math majors a run for their money.

So there I was bored as hell when BOOOM. Car goes flying off at about 45 mph. So I walk over and about 2 dozen motorists and pedestrians also came over. We were 100 meters away from the EMS dispatch station but the nearest paramedic or firefighter were all across town responding to a major accident. So what do the numerous ADULTs do while watching someone drown to death in their car. Nothing. Nothing at all. They either starting recording it with their cell or just sat around talking. So I say out loud, "isn't anybody going to help that guy?!" mumble mumble "let the police deal with it" I got so pissed off that I went into someone's car, grabbed a windshield breaker/seatbelt cutter, took off my shoes, and dove 40 feet into the 62 degree river. I took three tries to swim the 20 feet or so down, grabbed the dude( who had had a seizure or something while driving) and swam his ass to shore.

So everyone's clapping, I'm thinking about what my Scout Leader is going to say, when the dude whose car I went into came down and started yelling at me and slapping me for "stealing his stuff". Needless to say I gave back the tool.

Was the paramedic who had to treat the guy for a split forehead very happy that I did that? Yes, yes she was

She thought it was hilarious and gave me a cookie and a blanket because at that point I was going into severe hypothermia.

Welp, if I ever catch anyone recording another person dying again, I'm going to jail for multiple counts of ass kicking