Tuesday, August 22, 2006

A Child Hit By A Car In Front Of My Eyes...

I saw a boy get hit by a car as he was riding his bicycle through a cross walk. The driver and his friends stopped. The people in the front got out and went to ge see. Immideatly the woman on the passager side began crying and weeping upon realizing what just happened. This is not the first time that this has happened on this particular cross walk. In fact the last time this happened a man died. A woman who works at a restaurant in front of the cros walk even got a petition going to help make it safer, the only problem is the cross walk isn't the problem its the people who drive that are the problem. I had hang from car doors while the car is still in motion and have almost had my head busted by stray objects on the freeway even though I was a passanger. My parents have also had many close calls, but nothing like this. I was too into myself until I heard the crash and the screeching tires. I realized what had just happened by noticing the bicycle. It took the driver a few moments to realize what happend. In those few moments I knew he was thinking what to do. Thus I cursed at myself for not bringing my journal and pen. I always carry them around me because of cituations such as this. Thankfully the need for me to write down his lincense plate number was not needed. However I was not the only one to realize what happend. Just as soon as it happened everyone within a block knew what happened or came outside to see what was that noise. The driver and the woman immideatly ran to the boy and picked him up. He cradeled him in his arms while the woman had her hand on his forehead. That's when I saw him. I saw the road rash on his face and from what little I saw when he landed, I know he's going to be alright. Yet I was surprised as to what happened next. I knew that they shouldn't haved moved him but the people around me shoutig beat me to that. Both in spanish and english. They failed to listen and in their guilt moved him and did their best to comfert the child. As I told my self he was going to be alright I moved on and went home. As I was walking home I noticed everyone pour out of their homes and businesses. Their faces said more than words can describe. The look of horro and shock hit me hard. It gave me a feeling deep inside me. Those clever and quick enough to realize the cituatin began calling 911. Whether on cell phones or house phones I saw 5 people making the call for help. As soon as they called I heared sirens and I felt relief. We all act differently under situations like this. I chose to do nothing because of the number of people already doing something. Whether shouting first aide instructions or calling on their phones I let it be. Yet I could not help think to myself that if not for crossing the street two blocks ahead I would have been crossing with that kid. I'm thinking that if I was there with him this wouldn't have happened or even worse, I would have been in that crash. Its natrual to question the why and the how in moments such as this. However I know better and I have been there. I know that the reaction people had was a result of the person being hit a child. A little person who has their whole life ahead of them and the fear that it can all be taken away from him in one single moment. In that moment the driver is made out to be reckless,irresponcible and a list of other words that he does not deserve. In this case it was nobodies fault, it never is. The kid having fun riding his bicycle failed to look ahead and the driver not noticing anything out of place continued driving. Yet when that kid poped out of no where everything changed. Ignorance can be bliss, but it can also be the problem. People tend to be too selfish now adays and who can blame them. We all have our problems in our day to day lives. We tend to ignore those who are not close to us because of the simple fact that we don't bother with strangers. We are too self involved and as a result we make mistakes. Mistakes that could cause lives to end. A few months back my boss Arnold and I where coming home on the Santa Monica freeway. It was rush hour and as always I was fighting to stay awake even though I was slowly falling a sleep. Then out of no where we see a man crash his motorcycle onto the back of a car in the carpool lane. I saw how it happened and knew that the man was at fault. Even though one of his obvious injuries was a broken leg I felt nothing. He was riding his motorcycle in between the lanes at a high speed during rush hour on the carpool lane. His hurry caused him greatly. As we moved on Arnold called for road assiastance and left it at that. Yet before he grab his phone me said "shit!" The way he said it had gult in his tone and manner. This is due to him being a fellow motorcycle rider himself. Yet today I felt something. Why I can understand technacally, but I still question myself. Is it because it was a little boy this time rather than a guy who was in a hurry? Or is it something else?