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Home > More about the accident that happened by my house

More about the accident that happened by my house

August 8th, 2011 at 02:11 am

I wrote an earlier post about hearing a crash near my house, and then hearing a man calling for help in the darkness. It happened at a very sharp curve in the road where a high underground water table has pushed up all the asphalt, breaking up the road. I didn't call immediately when I heard the cries, and I initially questioned myself about whether I really heard someone yelling "Help me." Luckily, the man called out again, and this time, I called 911 and a small battalion of police and EMT workers arrived in a few minutes. It appeared to be a motorcycle accident.

In yesterday's local paper, there was a small write-up about it. It was a 49-year-old man who lived elsewhere in town riding a brand-new scooter. No helmet. So putting 2 and 2 together, i imagined that the driver was not used to riding scooters. In the paper it said he applied the brakes at a sharp curve in the road and the bike actually overturned.

Today, I decided to try to reach out to the driver and see if he was ok. The newspaper provided his name and address, so I found the number in the phone book and called. I got a machine and left a message explaining that I was the one who called 911 and I was just calling to see if he was ok.

I got a call back a short time later from the guy's wife, who thanked me for my help. She said he's still in the hospital (the accident occurred last Tuesday) and that the surgeon said he was lucky to be alive. All his ribs on one side were cracked and he had a punctured lung, among other things. The bike, which had barely been driven, had just a few scratches.

The wife said her husband had really wanted to get the scooter a year or two ago and she had been trying to talk him out of it because she didn't think they were safe.

Now, maybe, he'll finally agree that your wife is always right!

But on a serious note, I told the wife I hoped he would get well soon. It's gotta be incredibly upsetting to go through all that.

Ironically, when I went outside at the time of the accident, I ran into my neighbor across the way, and I commented that there must be 10 police and EMT vehicles out there assisting the guy. Yeah, she said, and you wonder why our taxes are so high. Personally, if i had an accident, I'd hope as many showed up to help me!

Besides, EMT and fire dept is wholly volunteer in my town; only the police are paid. It actually made me feel proud to see such a strong emergency response by people who are getting nothing out of helping their fellow citizens except the satisfaction of helping someone in crisis. Especially in this day and age, when everything's about money, and old-fashioned community cooperation, like the Amish barn raisings have become a real rarity.

6 Responses to “More about the accident that happened by my house”

  1. littlegopher Says:
    1312768323

    Our town too - we have an all-volunteer fire department and a police reserve unit. We do have paid police officers, but can have so few with the assistance of the volunteers.

    The guy is so lucky - both in his few injuries and in you getting him the help he needed. Yay for you!!

  2. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1312768550

    Elsewhere an internet pal of mine thought maybe in this computer age he could finally find out who got him to a hospital many years ago when he nearly lost his life in a motorcycle accident. However, the records no longer existed and he still did not have a way to thank the angel who saved him. I'm glad you were able to contact the family. And hooray for your community!

  3. creditcardfree Says:
    1312769580

    I'm sure they so appreciate your call. I hope he recovers quickly.

  4. WISEWOMAN Says:
    1312774239

    Wow! Incredible story. Thank goodness you were there to call for help.

  5. CB in the City Says:
    1312806694

    I agree with you. Seeing a strong response to a tragedy is heartwarming. I would never think about tax dollars at a time like that!

  6. rob62521 Says:
    1312809467

    I like the comparison to the Amish barn raising. We seem to lack community like that anymore. That was really nice of you to check on the guy and I'm sure the wife was appreciative.

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