Horrifying Video Hit & Run Victim Ignored by Passerbys
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Hartford, Connecticut, USA - incident occurred June 5, 2008
78-year-old man fights for his life, and is paralyzed after being hit by a vehicle and flung across the road. His body was left in the street, after the incident occurred. Passerbys just looked at him, and kept on walking. The traffic surveillence cameras caught the horrifying incident on tape. MSNBC released the video. The hit-and-run driver is asked to come forward. The man who was injured, is paralyzed and struggling to survive now (in the hospital). The Hartford Police chief was quoted stating, “We no longer have a moral compass.” - to read the full story please visit the MSNBC page here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24989558/ and I’ve embedded the surveillance video below.
What do you think of the situation?
My opinion - it is sad to see that people would walk right past the man who was lying there and injured. It is a bit shocking. But I am not here to judge anyone as you never know how you would react if you were there. Maybe after seeing this video, it will bring about some awareness so in the future (God forbid if this happens again) maybe people will react differently. What do you think? I hope the guy comes forward. I’ll be praying for this man’s recovery and for his family.
–
Related posts
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
It absolutely sickens me that people can just drive away from something like that. Given the circumstances of how they were driving to begin with, I guess it’s not any real surprise that they would choose to continue thinking about just themselves.
I agree that it’s despicable that no one seemed to respond but at the same time you have to ask yourself, what was the SAFEST thing to do for the guy that was hit? According to the full article there were about 4 calls made to 911 within a minute of the accident. Unless you have medical expertise, trying to do anything for the man laying in the road could have ended up making his injuries worse or even killing him. I agree, Holly. It’s hard to say what I would have done in the same situation, but I tend to think that I would have called 911 and then not moved him at the risk of worsening his injuries unless I was instructed to by the 911 operator.
This man and his family will most certainly be in my prayers. As for the morons who were driving in such a stupid manor, I certainly hope they are found and they end up in jail for life.
Thanks for your honest opinion Dustin. I agree with you. Although no one ever knows how they might react in any given situation - I believe I would have ran straight up to the man. I would have tried to do something (not sure what) - and maybe stand up to block traffic (so he doesn’t get hit again) and yell for help. I’ll be praying for him and his family.
I actually cant believe what I saw. It hard to even watch the video and see that man get hit…and then to see the cars just keep going. It reminds me of the story of the Good Samaritan.
I know that people sometimes feel helpless and they dont know what to do to help, so they feel that there are enough people around and someone else will help. The problem is when everyone else is saying that to themselves, and then there is no one to help.
I think the question you should always have in your mind whenever you are faced with a situation or even in your day to day relationships is “what would you want if you were that person?” If you put yourself in their shoes, it helps to understand and gives you the motivation to take action when you feel bad, and not dismiss your feelings.
I agree with you Dustin…it would not be wise to give that man medical attention if you do not have that knowledge, but maybe sitting next to him and speaking encouraging words to him would be a good thing. Even if he is not conscious, his spirit can hear. If they are conscious, it can reassure them that help is on the way, and it is going to be OK. Maybe a prayer with them would not be so bad either.
Just imagine that it is someone who you really care about, even if you dont know them…because somewhere out there is a person who does care for them deeply, and if they were there, they would rush to his aid.
I hope he is doing OK, and my prayers are with him and his family.
Thanks for the post Holly.
Jenna
There are a lot of sickening things happening in the world. As for the passersby - they did look like they were standing around and wondering what to do. If they called 911 and just stood there, they probably just felt confused and frozen, not wanting to move him and make it worse etc.
I just remembered something that happened to me once when I panicked. There was a little fire in my office. Someone plugged a heater in and the extension cord caught on fire. No one (including me) thought to unplug the cord. One person tried to put out the fire but left it plugged in. I ran out to look for the fire extinguisher and then I realized I didn’t know where it was and wound up running back and forth. I just panicked and lost my mind for that moment. Finally my friend arrived and he unplugged the thing, smothered it in a blanket, and put the whole thing under water in the bathroom sink. It’s sometimes just a matter of drilling.
The real psychopaths in this video are the drivers. It’s not like they didn’t notice. Unfortunately this - and worse - is what happens in this world.
I think the most important thing is for each one of us to hold on to our own values, honor, and integrity, despite what the TV, songs, media, and others would promote.
Maybe you remember that in school it was sometimes not considered “cool” to be considerate? That is a falsehood that is being pushed on the society over the last 50 years or so. People are getting engulfed in it. So don’t let yourself go that route, and do everything you can to set a good example and help your fellow man.
Thanks Anna and Jenna. Anna I definitely understand what you are saying about being frozen (like frozen with fear or in shock of the situation). I’ve been attacked before unfortunately, and that is exactly how I felt - frozen and everything was in slow motion. I was upset with myself because I felt like I could do nothing - things were in a blur. I later read about something that put that into perspective - when people are undergoing stressful situations, their body reacts with adrenaline or noradrenaline. Adrenaline puts you into action to do something, the other puts you into slow motion like I was.
But, the thing that is so chilling to me is that people only feel it’s ok to call 911 and stand around as a guy is lying dying on the road and could possibly get hit again. I know there are laws (ie: if you do more damage to the person by moving him, etc) but why don’t people go to him - just to be near. Like Jenna wrote in her comment - Just talk to him or treat him like someone you know and care about. Any words of comfort given to a person in a serious life-threatening time could really help him - could help put him at ease to know he is not alone.
I definitely agree that those people are being real morons in that video. Like I said, the society is going wooden. But … actually, did you know that when you speak around an injured or unconscious person, what you say acts like a hypnotic command and can cause the person to have pain and irrational behavior later in life? In any case, I definitely agree that staying near him and showing some care would help the situation greatly. I hope he recovers.
Oh - and funny you mentioned that other thing. I was strangled nearly to death in an elevator when I was 17. During this incident, I had attention on the fact that some change (equal to about 75 cents) had fallen on the floor and I was afraid it would fall down the shaft. I guess I was short on money at the time, as I remember telling the murderer to wait for a moment while I reached down to pick up my change. At which point I noticed my hands were shaking so heavily I could barely pick up the coins.
Wow Anna were you able to get the 75 cents?!?
Maybe that was your clever subconscious diversion tactic to get you out of the man’s grip. Please tell us how you escaped there Miss Anna. That is crazy! And strangely, when I was 17 my mom let me travel to Thailand, Singapore, Borneo and Malaysia. I saved my money (which was barely enough) and went with my close friend who was 22. I suffered from heat exhaustion - very severely and was extremely weak from it. I was in a hotel/guest house with my friend and this other guy who was traveling with us - a photographer from Canada named Nick. We had a room with one big bed and a small twin size on the side. All of our luggage was on the small bed and lovely Nick and my friend were sleeping on the bed.
I decided to read a book right outside of the room on the couch, the common area which seemed safe (it was daytime). Without realizing how weak I was, I fell asleep. When I awoke, I found myself with my shorts unzipped, in the arms of a huge beer-bellied german or swiss man who took me into his room. He was violent and put me on his bed, kept pushing me down as I tried to get up. In the midst of this disguisting situation, I managed to tell him I wanted a drink of water, or rather needed it. It was my only hope in getting out - if I could stand up and run. I stood there drinking this nasty guys water as he was trying to grope me - very little space in this room, only a big bed and a door which was blocked by the guy. The weird thing is, I remember hearing a noise and saying something to the crazy attacker about how it was my boyfriend looking for me. He still wouldn’t let me go and somehow I ran past him and ran as fast as I could back to my room. I didn’t tell them what happened. I was just 17 and very frightened. I am very thankful to have gotten out of there. I’m thankful you got out of your mess - how did you and why did it happen? Sorry to anyone reading this as it is really off topic. Life is becoming stranger and stranger - sometimes I wonder how I am still alive. And if you have children (esp girls) really look out for them. Society is really changing and kids (and even adults) really seem susceptible to peer pressure.
I bought the book “The Art of Being Kind” and the author mentioned several psychological studies that were done with people. One in which it showed that in a situation like with the man who was hit by the car - if NO ONE is seen reacting, there is a greater chance that NO ONE will. If ONE person (even just one) does something, others will run over as well. Maybe you can be that ONE person if you are ever in situation where someone needs help.
Yeah we did go off topic but I think that’s okay - in a round about way I guess it’s related.
Well, how did I get out of that. I am not sure what I did that worked. I remember I knew that I had to get out of that elevator. I kept saying to the man (or trying to, I was speaking Czech) “not here, lets go to my room.” Maybe that threw him off. Or maybe it was my frazzled attempt to get those coins. I don’t know what happened. It looked like he suddenly changed his mind and realized he was doing the wrong thing because he finally hit the elevator button to go down (he had stopped the elevator) and went back to the lobby and walked out. He was wearing a bandage on his head and his arm was in a cast.
Now what is even stranger is what was going through my head at the moment I thought I was going to die. My parents had put me through a private school. So I was thinking, “what a waste of money. I just finished school and now I die.” The other thing I was thinking was about the fight I had just had with a “friend” of mine in a nightclub. The whole way home I had been thinking of all of the things I could say to him the next time I saw him,, to show him how wrong he was. (Which was why I didn’t notice I was being followed home). So I was thinking “if I die now I will never get the chance to tell him off.”
So there you go. In our dying moments we think of … school fees, 75 cents, and telling off our friends? ???
Anyway I think what really happened was that I decided that dying at that time would be a very bad idea. Particularly I got the picture of either my mom getting notified that I was dead, or of my body getting hidden and my family spending years searching and wondering what happened to me. That was the most horrible thought of all and when I thought of that I decided that it was just not a good idea to die.
So the man left and I went up to my apartment and hugged the dog. That was 6 am. At 10 am I left to the Ukraine with some men who my friend new through an acquaintance. We drove through Poland and Bella Russia and it was a really long drive. My neck was stiff and sore the whole time and it was a little red.
As far as your story is concerned - glad you got out of there! Funny how we have such similar stories sometimes!
Okay blog readers, we went way off topic, but I hope you are at least learning something here. Never get in an elevator with a strange man who has his head in a bandage, at 3 am, when you are a 17-year-old girl being furious about a nightclub argument. And never sleep in a hotel lobby.
Hi Holly,
Just a quick note (I Guess it got a bit big) to say hello and to thank you. I have been observing your progress from afar (not an IM stalker, really!).
I have been facinated with your stories, your strength and willpower. I do not know too many people who can do what you have done, being an independant woman, mother, and business person in a rather unpredictable part of the world.
I actually had a friend who was having a session of the “poor me’s” a while ago and I asked her to go to your site and read your story. It profoundly affected her. Thank you for that.
About the piece on the man run down on the street. I think it is a sign of the insensitive nature that is sweeping across North America. Our society has decided to be only about ‘me’, for the most part. I agree with your statement that it would be good to be the catalyst for change by being that ONE person.
A few months ago, I observed a similar prejudice against another Human Being. In one area of our city there are a large number of Canadian aboriginals (some refer to them as Indians or Natives). Due to cycles of family poverty and violence, many rely heavily on social assistance and are often drawn into aloholism, prostitution and crime. Unfortunately they have been catagorized as a ‘group’, not as individuals. Many have broken the cycles and are leading productive lives and establishing businesses.
Anyways, the day I was talking about I saw a young aboriginal girl about 20 cross a crosswalk (legally) and all traffic stopped. Some jerk raced around in the outside lane and hit her just like the man. She flew in the air and was in serious condition lying on the street. Several of us stopped and some came to her aid, while others tried to route traffic (during rush hour). The comments of the people who had to wait for a short while in traffic were outrageous. Things like “oh, its only an indian” or ‘get that drunken damn squaw off the road”, and worse. I was taken back. Here was a Human Being (an earth sister) down, injured, at no fault of her own. It hardened my attitude towards my ‘fellow’ man. It is important. This young girl has led a life, gone to school, has family and friends, maybe a job, maybe will be a major contributor to society some day, but to them she was a nuisance.
I am with you in spreading the ‘be the ONE’ concept. It is time to reverse the virus that is plaguing our society. Challenge the prejudice, challenge the apathy.
Thanks Holly for bringing this to your community’s attention. You are a remarkable young woman. I know you have had your challenges and heartbreak, but know that the little messages you transmit are making a difference to others.
Best regards to you and your son. Lucky little guy.
Dale
Thank you for sharing that colorful story Anna.
I love your advice and tips at the end! I love your writing style too - it is so funny because you can take a potentially life-threatening situation and explain it in such an interesting way. Some people may be so traumatized that they never talk about something like that. It’s good that you can look back and see it as an experience, and write about it in such an interesting way. 
If you have any other stories feel free to share. You can post anything you like on this site here - I can make you a section - Amazing Life Lessons - 
lol..maybe that’s part of why you are such an amazing poet - you’ve found a way to express all of it and let it out. 
Thanks again for posting Anna. I love your stories!
I know it helps me to share or write what has happened to me in my past. It’s hard to keep things bottled up - but hard if no one can relate or no one wants to hear about it!
Well, I know it is really time to end this thread but I just wanted to thank you. As you have unwittingly cheered me up at the right moment. Just before I got your last comment, I was supposed to go to sleep (it’s very late where I am) but I received a highly irksome message from someone whom I consider to be … um, insane. Okay. So I was lying awake steaming about this, not able to sleep and I finally came back to the computer to write a response to that person to let some steam off. I then saw your last comment, and I feel so much better!!! Thank you.
Now I think I can maybe get some sleep. I will think about nice things like SEO, websites, and friendly internet entrepreneurs.
You see - just by being friendly and cheerful and telling people what you like about them, you can help others in ways you might not have expected! I know that is one of the reasons you are successful online and I admire it.
Okay, now I try to go to sleep. Goodnight.
Wow, if you girls don’t stop writing, I may not get
What amazing experiences and outcomes!
anything done!
I believe God definitely watches over us, even though we can’t always see it.
I am reminded of a true story. I am not sure if anyone has heard it, but I will share it anyways. Forgive me if you heard the story already, as I may get the small details wrong.
There was a teenage girl who was attending a University. She was done with classes for the night, and was walking back to the dorm. It was dark and quiet and she was scared, but she proceeded to walk back anyways. She heard a person’s footsteps behind her, and started to speed up concerned about who it was. The guy eventually left and she called the cops frantic.
A day went by and the cops contacted her asking her if the man touched her at all. The cops explained to her that they caught a man on the campus that night who they have been looking for, as he was connected to serious rape crimes. She questioned the police as to why the man did not touch her, as she was alone in a dark and secluded area. The cops said that they asked the convicted rapist why he did not go after the student that night. He replied, “What are you kidding me? I would never go near her. She was walking with those two huge men beside her.”
I have many stories of quick interventions that are too numerous to talk about here, but your stories just reminded me of all of the “close calls” experienced by my family and I.
Anna and Holly…I am so glad you guys made it through those experiences and lived to tell about them. As much as the stories are horrid, they are encouraging to those who have gone through them. You guys are very courageous for sharing…thank you.
And yes, if you are the parents of young women…be careful!! Unfortunately, parents have to be overprotective these days…you cannot trust anyone.
Peace to everyone
Jenna
Dale, thank YOU. I really appreciate what you wrote. I am glad my strange stories of experiences have helped people - or helped your friend. Sometimes I don’t know what I should or should not share on here.
I try to be as open as possible. I know people sometimes feel they have to be politically correct and not speak about religion and how it affects their lives, but I no longer care. I also don’t care if I am at risk for getting in trouble by running to someone’s side and trying to help him/her. Sometimes there are too many rules we create and that separates us from our “human” side. What I was getting at is, the Internet Marketing experiences I’ve had have transformed my life (esp over the past year). I have seen people’s lives change, people inspired and with hope, helping each other and seeing amazing things happen as a result. I feel so much closer to God, and not afraid to write about that. A lot of major miraculous things have taken place over the past couple of weeks - and I will have to write about that in another post. 
I’m getting really off track now. Thank you Dale - knowing people like you inspires me and gives back hope in people. 
And Jenna, Thank you for your posts too! I LOVED LOVED LOVED your story. I have no heard of that before - but it is awesome. And, I believe it! THANK YOU!
Dale, I almost forgot - your story is really horrific and disturbing about that girl. Do you know what happened to her? If she survived? What made me feel so bad/sad when I saw that video of the man who was hit by the car is seeing his son. Then immediately I was thinking about how he will have to recover, and when he does he will see and hear all over the place about how no one gave a crap to help him. That’s enough to make someone feel really depressed. Hopefully communities and people will be around to show love and support or empathy to him and his family. I hope he makes it or recovers.
Wow, Holly. Looks like your post sparked up quite a bit of conversation. I felt compelled to post again because of the comments about at least talking to the man or saying something comforting to him. I whole-heartedly agree with the concept. It looks as though most if not all the people responding to this post are Christians, so I think we can pretty much all agree with Jenna’s comment that “even if he is not conscious, his spirit can hear.”
Although I didn’t post it in my first response, one of the first things that came to mind was my Army first aid training. I remember the first thing we were taught to do was approach the victim and say in a loud clear voice “ARE YOU OK? ARE YOU OK?” Funny how it’s been almost 10 years since I went to Basic Training and that still sticks out in my head like that.
The additional stories in this thread are all very interesting as well. As horrifying as it is to realize that our world has such awful people in it, it’s also comforting to know that there are also other Christians out there who still have in mind that helping each other is important. I could go on and on about how a friend of mine and I recently had a conversation just about how it seems that most people in the world today seem to think only about themselves and our plot to fix it! But, I think I’ll save that for another time. Thanks to everyone for the great posts!
Hi Dustin, Thanks for the comment. How long were you in the Army for? Are you still in the Army? I remember learning that as well. It’s strange because I think that is pretty “normal,” to approach the person and at least ask if he/she is ok. If you are afraid of injuring the person, just do what you can to get him/her help.
This whole topic really got me thinking. Does anyone remember years back when a child fell into an ape exhibit at a zoo? The ape (I believe it was a gorilla but I am not sure) went over to the child, put her arms around the little boy and rocked him back and forth to comfort him. That ape showed more compassion than the people in the street accident. I am going to start a new post about this - about being kind to others - because this book I am currently reading has some astounding facts about it. About experiments conducted on people to test their level of compassion, to see if they are innately kind or not.
There was a story in the news a while ago. A girl aged 11 or 13 or so was being raped by some men in Africa. Two lions came and chased them away. The lions stood guard over the girl all night. The next day when the police arrived they saw the lions standing there. As soon as the lions saw the police arrive they got up and walked away.
Some idiotic scientists had theories about this like “the lion’s brains must have misconstrued the child’s voice to sound like a lion cub’s …” Duh. Instead of just acknowledging the fact that we are all spiritual beings in bodies.
To contrast, if you see the movie “Ghosts in the Darkness” which is supposed to be a true story, there were some lions there that were really evil.
We are all spiritual beings, and everyone is different. But actually everyone is basically good below it all.
Wow that is amazing. I found the story here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8305836/
The girl was from Ethiopia.
I couldn’t believe at the end of the article, it said something like 70% of marriages in Ethiopia are through violent kidnappings, and forced.
Yep. That was the page I read.
All over Africa the human rights violations are pretty horrific. I stumbled upon a story by mistake yesterday (through a link from a Wordpress plugin actually) about what they do to albinos and I haven’t recovered yet.
No, I am no longer in the Army. I was discharged after 2.5 years due to a back injury I sustained while still in AIT.
(Incidentally, I don’t remember anyone announcing in a loud, clear voice “ARE YOU OK? ARE YOU OK?” when I injured my back…lol)
That really is an amazing story about the Ethiopian girl. Isn’t it kind of a sorry state of affairs that wild animals known for their tendency to hunt and kill did a better job at protecting this young girl than any of the human beings involved in the incident? I can’t believe I haven’t read that story before now! It’s 3 years old!
Hi everyone! I am prone to giving my thoughts on a subject before I read the thoughts of others so please forgive me if I am repeating something someone else has already stated. I like raw emotions and thoughts so here goes.
I watched that video and the first thought I had which is usually the thought I have whenever I see this kind of behavior is “what has gone wrong with us!” I honestly believe humanity is anything but humane. I do believe there are good people out there but they are few and far apart. I think maybe society has instilled so much fear in us that if we do lend a hand, either, we will be sued by the person/s we are helping or somehow someway we will be held accountable for anything bad that happens from our helping.
I can’t say I have helped anyone in such a situation as the one shown in the above video but I do feel in my heart if faced with seeing something like it I would not hesitate to help.
Anyway that is just my thought on the matter.
Leave your response!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Honest Riches Guide
Free Software
Links
Subscribe to Topics RSS
Tags of Posts
accident anna vera williams burmese falang Free Downloads Free Software Funny Thailand holly beth mann Holly Mann holly mann poetry holly mann president Honest Riches Honest Riches affiliate program honest riches update illegal ownership Internet Marketers Leonid Stadnik make money online MeToo motorcycle crash online income poem Poetry poetry about God poor kids russia templates thai culture thailand thai news thoughts Travel trip tutorial ukraine ukraine trip volunteer web design what would you do Wordpress wordpress tutorial Work Online News Worlds Tallest Man wpmu YoutubeMost Commented
Most Viewed