Are these people as horrible as they seem?
Take a look at this video then come back and read the rest.
Ok, what did you see? An older gentleman (granted he was jay walking but I don't remember a single day of my life when I didn't see dozens of people jay walk anywhere and everywhere) walking across the street gets hit by a car (on the WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD no less).
And it seems - it SEEMS - that everyone who saw it did nothing to help. The police chief said he was "unsure" whether anyone called 911 (personally, I'm baffled that the police chief would not have known that information - it would NOT be hard to find all calls to 911 when you know the exact time, date and location of the incident).
I say "seems" because I want to illustrate the point that, without audio, you cannot really tell what the people did or how they reacted.
I want to make the point that a picture - even a moving picture (that's video for you youngins') - does NOT always say a thousand words or tell the whole story. Let me explain...
Mr. Torres gets tossed onto the hood. Flips over. Slides off the door and side-view mirror. Those two black objects - one where he got hit, the other right by his body - appear to be his shoes. His head bounces sharply off the hard asphalt then he slowly wilts onto his back. Then what do the people do?
You might want to watch it again a few times - as I did - to make sure you catch all that happens (or does not happen as the case may be) in response. NOTE: It is easier to watch repeatedly if you pause it and go back so you don't have to keep watching the introductory commercial.
Look carefully to the left. Near the middle of the left side there appear to be three women happily chatting at first. At least one seems to look out to the street BEFORE Mr. Torres is hit; it looks as though the speeding cars on the wrong side of the road made some noise which attracted her attention. Then, as he is struck, her hands go up to her mouth in shock and she steps back away from the road and the horror she just witnessed.
So far, I don't see anything wrong with her reaction. So far, the only wrongdoers are the people in the two cars speeding down the wrong side of the road, hitting Mr. Torres, then fleeing the scene after they realize what they have done.
A little closer to the top of the screen on the left several people are walking toward the scene (towards the bottom of the screen) before the impact and they too immediately step back in shock. It also appears they step back for their own safety from two cars coming in their direction and out of control.
Again, so far, the pedestrian witnesses still have done nothing wrong, unreasonable, or unexpected given what they just experienced. So far, the only wrongdoers are still the people in the two cars.
Now look to the right. The car which was, at the time of impact, to the right of the degenerate who hit Mr. Torres immediately pulls over to the right. Perhaps he was calling the police. The only thing clear from the video is that he was at least concerned enough to pull over. What are the various ways he could possibly have reacted?
The best thing he could have done is get out, stop traffic to prevent the risk of Mr. Torres getting run over, walked over to him, called the police (or asked a bystander to call the police), spoke to Mr. Torres to check for consciousness, and stood by him until the police or ambulance showed up.
Could he have touched Mr. Torres? Made him feel comfortable? Checked him for broken bones? Not if he has any sense at all. Unless the driver of that car is a licensed medical professional such as an EMT, nurse, physician's assistant, or doctor, he has NO business touching an injured person who is still conscious.
He could move his neck the wrong way and damage nerves or collapse his airway. He could do a MILLION things wrong by touching him but almost nothing he could do could be helpful.
And I am assuming he wasn't a medical professional since he didn't instinctively go check Mr. Torres for consciousness and vital signs.
Another option is to pull over, call the police and report the incident and location, then drive off - which he could well have done from what we see in the video.
Not quite as nice a reaction since Mr. Torres is still at risk of being run over as he lays in the road while traffic is moving.
And since Mr. Torres could be losing consciousness and there could be important developments to his condition which a witness could convey to the EMTs when they arrive.
And since, just out of compassion, whether he was capable of offering substantive help or not, when a victim has someone physically near them to acknowledge their existence and show concern for human life, that victim will feel much more at ease.
The last way he could have reacted is to swerve to make sure Mr. Torres doesn't land on his car and damage it, and just keep driving like he was avoiding a pothole. Clearly, this is not acceptable human behavior.
But that is NOT what happened. He DID stop. We just don't know if he just sat there gawking at the spectacle or if he called the police.
So, if this is indeed what happened, then his reaction is not perfect... but at least he took a moment to make sure the professionals and the authorities were informed so they could help Mr. Torres.
Again, so far, the only guilty parties here are in those two cars. Although, the driver of this car could have done things slightly better by stopping traffic and waiting by Mr. Torres until professionals arrived.
Then two other cars come from the bottom of the screen, quickly at first, but look - the first one pulls to the side (right by the side road that the degenerates sped away on) and waits.
Maybe he is calling the police as well. Maybe he is looking down that side road to see if there is still any sign of who hit Mr. Torres and is trying to get the license plate.
Again, could have been better if he got out, stopped traffic, checked to make sure Mr. Torres was conscious, and waited with him until professionals arrived.
But, still, no wrongdoers but the degenerates who hit him.
The second of the two cars from the bottom of the screen appears completely unconcerned about the man lying in the road and, in fact, swerves across the yellow line right near Mr. Torres in a hurry to pass the "idiots who are making me late because they are slowing down to help a man that got hit by a car!"
Fine, now we can add the driver of that car to the list of callous people who DID do something wrong by doing nothing at all. Reckless and callous - BIG Jerk.
As those cars are passing, one approaches from Mr. Torres' side of the road (from the top of the screen). That car stops and, if you look very closely, looks like it put on its hazard lights.
Maybe that's yet another person calling 911. AND, this is the first person to make any effort to stop traffic. Good for that person!
Next a white car appears from the bottom of the screen, slows to be sure to avoid the first car which pulled over and avoid Mr. Torres as well but continues without any further hesitation. Useless - thanks for nothing.
Then a truck comes from the bottom of the screen, slows apparently to look at Mr. Torres, then drives on. Useless - again, thanks for nothing, I hope I wasn't in your way.
As the truck is going by, two men appear in the bottom left of the screen who make calls from their cellphones (maybe Hartford just has an awful 911 system and people DID call the police). Good for those people!
Next a man walks in from the right of the screen, stops the car behind the truck, points to Mr. Torres (apparently saying something), then walks to the curb on the left of the screen. And the car to which he pointed out Mr. Torres, pulls over to the right. At least some concern was shown by both parties - not so bad.
Then a minivan comes by and keeps on driving. Again, useless - amazing how many people have no sense and no compassion.
Now a scooter comes by, slows down, and circles Mr. Torres. Pedestrians on the left start to mill about, walking into the road and may even have asked Mr. Torres if he was conscious and told him to lay still to avoid worsening his injuries. That seems a rather reasonable explanation given what we see.
That would be great! That's the best thing people can do in this situation. We now, presumptively, have two people calling 911 and several others standing near Mr. Torres, not touching him to prevent further injuries, checking for consciousness, saying "try to stay calm and lay still, the police are on their way." What more can you ask?
Then the car which came in from the top of the screen turns around and leaves. Fine, so he didn't KEEP traffic stopped the whole time, but at least he helped for a bit. And now it doesn't seem as necessary to stop traffic since there are several very conspicuous people standing in the road to make it obvious to any approaching car that the road is not passable at the moment and to keep Mr. Torres from getting run over.
Maybe these people aren't so bad after all. Maybe the Hartford 911 system is in such disarray that it is rendered useless no matter how many people call. Maybe the Hartford police are so overwhelmed with their duties and so understaffed that they are fully aware of the 911 calls but are trying to bury it to avoid looking incapable. Maybe a lot of things!
This is all we know from this video.
1 - No one touched Mr. Torres. Since he was conscious, that's actually a GOOD thing.
2 - No one stopped traffic coming from the bottom of the screen. That part should have been handled better. I can't imagine with ALL those people no one had enough sense to realize it is important to stop traffic in both directions to keep the area safe.
3 - One car DID stop traffic coming from the top of the screen; at least until several pedestrians milled around Mr. Torres and made it obvious that the road was not to be driven on. That's a good thing too.
4 - At least 2 pedestrian witnesses (on the left) make calls almost immediately after Mr. Torres is hit. AND the first car on the right pulled over for long enough to place a call. AND the NEXT car on the right pulled over long enough to make a call as well. It is almost inconceivable to think that all these people were not calling 911 to report the incident. When you are walking and see a pedestrian get hit, you don't SUDDENLY remember to make a call to tell your wife to pick up the kids after school - you call 911! It seems very suspicious that the chief of police - a full week after the accident (Mr. Torres was hit LAST Friday) - would be "unsure" if anyone had called 911.
5 - Several pedestrian witnesses walk into the street and seem to speak to Mr. Torres. Knowing normal human behavior, the most reasonable assumption is that they were checking to see if he was conscious. Further, it is likely they even spoke to him and asked him if he was conscious to see if he could still speak. And it even seems like one of the bystanders puts out his hands in front of him and motions downward as though he were advising Mr. Torres to lay still to prevent worsening his injuries until the police arrived. It is even likely they told him, "Someone is calling the police. Try to stay calm and lay still, they will be here soon." But those are all assumptions. All we know for sure from the video is that they effectively prevented traffic from running Mr. Torres over and stood near him until the police arrived. I don't know what more you would expect to see from a video without hearing the audio.
Today's lesson - Every story has more than one side; sometimes there are several. And everyone has their own motivation for spinning the story their own way. The media in Hartford wants to sensationalize it to sell more papers or get more listeners or viewers and the police chief has an incentive to raise doubt about calls to 911 to avoid looking incapable or overwhelmed with work. Don't just accept the story you are spoon-fed from the media or the authorities... a statement is not actually true just because they say it is.
