this is going to be accomplicated ?

Question

Let me explain: I drive a 18wheeler all over the U.S.A. I have been witness to & helped to save several female lives in my past. but I was a witness to I think was the worst traffic accident in my history so far, This is the accident: I was drive-ing in the middle of nite., say 2:am. When a small race car went psat me in the fast lane. car was at least do over 100mph. for I was doing 80mpr my self. car psat me then went into the grass-y median. said car went into a spin & was going backwards into oncome-ing traffic. said sports car crashed into 2cars in opposite lane,still going at excessive speeds. I had no cell phone to use. I had no C.B. radio to use either. the next exit was 14miles north. I seen this car hit the other 2. I seen the destruction. I still have nitemares . I did not stop! I went to the nearest phone to report. I still feel guilty for not stopping. this was 25years ago. Should have i stopped to help? & then went to a phone? no one knows what they will do?wood u?

sorry about the spelling. usaully i am better at this. but, u are not answering the ? ur selves. What i should have done was to stop, give what help i could then go on to call. I could have saved a life. just by make-ing a tourniquet for some one. But i feel like I ran, rather than face human compassion.

Answer 1

Perhaps you should have stopped yeah but could you have helped in the way a paramedic would of been able too? No ?

then don't worry about it there was nothing you could have done, it's only natural to to think you could of or u should have stopped.

God will forgive you !!!

Answer 2

I think you did the right thing, as you are not a doctor nor are you caring any medical equipment and you are only one person. A crash like this needs the attention of several teams of paramedics, police and fire crews and you managed to make the correct decision to leave the accident and alert these specialist teams.

If you had stayed, you may have made a difference, but who would have gone for help? you were in the position to be the first to alert the emergency services to the accident. You made a decision, a good one, and probably saved lives. you should be patting yourself on the back not kicking yourself!

when people witness an accident, many fall into a state known as bystander apathy. bystanders do nothing presuming that someone else will call the police or intervene etc. follow the link to read about bystander apathy from the murder of kitty genovese. this did not happen to you, you are the silent hero of the night, you did the right thing, don't hate yourself for going against you natural instincts.

Answer 3

You acted on your flight or fight impulses. You had had a nasty shock and you did what your basic instincts told you to do. Which was run for safety and get help for a situation that was not of your making and out of control.
I sure as heck would have done the same. I can never forget freezing when a little old lady decided to cross a six lane highway in front of me. I wanted to do something but I couldn't. We were both lucky because somehow she cleared a path through the cars and made it unscathed.
I am sure that I would still feel guilty if she hadn't; but my thinking brain knows that it wasn't my fault.
It just shows that basically you are a caring human being. Reward yourself for that. I am sure you have gone on to do many good things because those thoughts have always been with you.

Answer 4

It was an 'either or situation.'

Stopping to help and not getting to a phone, could delay those medics etc who could save lives, from being alerted.

Not stopping, in order to alert medics, could have been the reason someone had died - had you applied a compress, things might have been different. BUT, you had no way of knowing how many injured there would be and you were not trained in assessing injuries - and which / who to treat first

- how much medical training have you had, and how up to date was it?

- how many can you deal with at once? and

- how wide a dispersal of debrie and bodies were there at the scene?

- how many places can you be in at one time?

- how much medical equipment did you happen to have with you at the time?


It was a judgement call that you had to make. it's as simple as that. Do not try to make anything more out of it.
You're just a human being.

Sash

Answer 5

stop feeling guilty.
if you had stopped there and then you'd have been a traffic hazard yourself. you went to nearest phone and got help as quickly as you could. 25 years ago there would have been no cell phones in either car that could have got help quicker so try and let it go

Answer 6

You said yourself that you are a truck driver, so that means you're not an emergency medical technician. The most important thing to do was to report the situation. You did the right thing, so no more guilt - let it go.

Answer 7

Try to forget about it. What good would you have done anyway?

Answer 8

its good enough that you a thought of helping...but you cant turn back the time....move on ...