why did i do this ?its not in my nature honest !?

Question

some time ago now while driving to work one morning at 6 am , i turned a corner only to find what looked like an old man face down in the middle of the road , instead of stoping and phoning for medical help , i drove round him !. even though this happend over 18 months ago i still think about what i did and im racked with guilt , and have bad dreams about it , i can not understand why i did it im not a heartless guy it was a spur of the moment thing .. i think .. i dont know to this day if the old bloke died, am i such a ratbag ?

Answer 1

That was not your finest hour, that's for sure. But I'm encouraged that you're experiencing angst as a result of this incident, which means you're not at peace with your reluctance to render aid either...this is a good sign. There's nothing you can do in retrospect to make that situation any better; what's done is done. But you can learn from this experience, and mentally prepare yourself to take decisive action should a situation arise in the future ( and it will). Food for thought: A true "ratbag" would not have thought to ask the question. Be well.

Answer 2

no you're not. we all like to think how we would react in these situations, but until we are put in them we don't really know what we will do. it obviously was a shock and you probably didn't really take it in. if you were the type to not give a sh*t then it wouldn't be playing on your mind still 18 months on. maybe if you talk to someone about it, it might help. chances are he was probably already dead if he was just lying there in the middle of the road. and i doubt very much you were the only person to notice him that morning. if he was alive then i'm sure someone would have stopped to help. it's not your fault, you were in shock.
just a few months ago, i was waiting for a bus and there was this bloke opposite, he had a bandage round his head and he just suddenly collapsed and started fitting. i wanted to run over and help him but i just didn't know what to do. it's the sort of thing that happens in slow motion because we don't know how to handle it.
i hope you feel better soon, you've got nothing to feel guilty about.

Answer 3

Well, did you check the news that day and see if anyone had been found on the road? It could have been a trick, you know. I've heard some pretty wild stories about people pretending to be sick, only to pull a knife on whoever stops to help them, and rob them. Yes, it could have been an old man who rilly needed help, but maybe it wasn't. I think it's unfortunate that in this day and age, we have to be careful about being good Samaritans because so many people take advantage of others' goodness and make them pay dearly for it.

If you checked the news and there was nothing about an old man dying on the road, I wouldn't worry about it anymore. I don't know the crime rate in your area, but there is some chance it could have been a trick to rob you. You never know. And if it rilly was an old man needing help, then I'm sorry for that. Maybe the next guy stopped and helped him.
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I wasn't going to put this in, but here goes. Not that I have anything against old men or anything, but this is a true story my father told me that happened somewhere in the US a few years back:

Two police officers drove up to the scene of a car accident. They found an older gentleman next to the car, groggy from being in the accident.

After taking the report, the police officers offered the old man a ride. They put him in the back of their car and drove off.

At some point, the old man suddenly pulled a gun, and for reasons still unknown, shot both officers fatally in the back of the head.

Unfortunately my father didn't know whether the old man was eventually caught, or what his motive might have been. He must have had some grudge against the police. Or maybe he was a wanted murderer and feared that the police would find out his identity. Or maybe he was crazy and thought he was being arrested and just lost it.

So now, any time the police in California give a person a ride, they usually check you out or pat you down. When the Chippies (CHP--California Highway Patrol) gave me a ride once, they didn't pat me down, but they made me put my backpack in their trunk for their safety--in case I had a big gun in there or something, I guess. And one of the officers sat in the backseat (probably to watch me) as I sat shotgun. I thought that was pretty smart of them. They just gave me a ride to the gas station because they had found me walking on the freeway after my car had broken down. And incidentally, they had already given my car a "Move-It Or Lose-It" ticket up the road. (In California you can't leave an abandoned car on the freeway for more that 24 hours; it'll get towed by the CHP.)

So, just to let you know: You never know.

Answer 4

It was the wrong thing to do, I wouldn't stop next time but I would call the authorities and let them know. There are alot of people that don't stop, fear of it being a trap and such. The way the world is going I can't blame them. Just make the call next time. Good luck.

Answer 5

Maybe, deep down, you thought it was a scam. If you got out to help he could've pulled a gun on you our he could have had someone waiting with him to steal you vehicle and/or money. People do some strange and nasty **** these days. If it were a woman you probably would not have felt so uneasy about stopping. Hopefully that will ease you mind a little bit. Next time call for help- you don't even have to stop- just call the police. You need to just let go of your guilt, their is nothing you can do about it now.

Answer 6

Fear? Sleep inertia? You cannot blame yourself, we all have the 'fight or flight' instinct within us and on this occasion you flew. And if it is someone's time to go then hey. You obviously have a conscience as you are feeling crappy because of your actions and the chance for you to redeem yourself to your own mind will come again. Do not live life thinking 'what if'? So no, you are not a ratbag.

Answer 7

It sounds like your conscience is eating you up.The fact that your still thinking about it says that your not such a bad person. I'm sure given another chance your conscience would kick in and you'd make the right decision this time. Give yourself a break God knows your heart and thats all that matters.

Answer 8

Maybe you'll never know - but at least your conscience is giving you hell.
I too spotted a man lying face down in the gutter with people ignoring him - just swerving round, etc. I did what I thought was the christian thing and phoned the police/ambulance. Turns out he was the local drunk, and was moved on for the third time that day. And no - I didn't get any thanks for it!

Answer 9

Dont worry the next person to pass probally had a heart and stopped to help the poor old man.

Answer 10

Maybe try to do something to help someone over and above what you would ordinarily do. That might make you feel better. You can't solve all the problems in the world. Just focus on one thing and do it.