I was not too far from home when a young woman ran out in front of a speeding car in front of me. Luckily, the driver was able to stop before hitting her. At that point, the woman just stood there in front of the car for what seemed like an eternity before stumbling, dazed, across the road. The car drove away, while the woman collapsed against a fence, sobbing.

No one stopped.

I pulled over to the side of the road and put my hazards on. I got out and went over to the young woman. I asked her if she was okay. She said, “I don’t want to be here anymore…I can’t take anymore…”. I asked her what had happened, but she said she didn’t want to talk about it. She continued to cry. I asked her if she had any family in the city and she said she was from Nova Scotia, but that her sister was in the city. After trying to comfort her for a while, I got out my cell phone and got a therapist’s number for her. I made her promise to call the doctor and her sister. She seemed to have calmed down a little. I drove her to a payphone and gave her a couple of quarters. I gave her my number and told her that I was expecting her to call me today, so that I would know she was alright.

In hindsight, I should have driven her to a hospital, but I did not think of that at the time. I am kicking myself for not doing that.

I heard from her last night! She sounded a lot better and she's made an appointment with the therapist!
[Edited 5/5/05 11:45am]

oops

insensitive edit
[Edited 5/4/05 7:12am]

you did more than most people would have done i guess



hope she sorts herself out.

are you ok?

That was very good of you to pull over and help her out when no one else did.

You are a remarkable individual

Alcop0p said:

It shook me up incredibly. I am worried about her. I hope she calls. I am kicking myself for not thinking to get her to a hospital.

It looks like you've done what what best at the moment. Maybe she would have gotten all hysterical when you would have taken her to a hospital. And maybe we can't decide what's best for this woman. To me it seems you've done the right thing at that particular moment.

Alcop0p said:

Why? For her sake or her friends & family? We all gotta go sometime and if people can't take it anymore maybe it's better for them if they go now. I'm not saying I'm agreeing with the suicide method she picked though.

jayaredee said:

I ain't so fucking remarkable. I do not comprehend the world I live in, where dozens of people witness a suicide attempt and everyone just drives on.

...
[Edited 5/4/05 7:16am]

Ace said:

This is something that shocks me pretty much too. So although you think your reaction is really normal, it's still remarkable in the world we live in. Sad but true.

Don't feel guilty about not taking her to the hospital.

Ace said:

Oh so you're from Toronto too....
Where exactly did this occur?

analbolique said:

Having tried to take my own life more than once i can say that I'm glad i never suceeded, It would have been the wrong thing to do, the wrong solution and a waste of a life

nothing is ever that bad.....

With a few months behind her who knows where she will be the possiblitys are endless, pretty much certain if she had gone under the car

Ace said:

thats mad cool man
our soceity is full of people that hide behind their wooden doors
in their little wooden homes
your actions prove that humanity still exists
in some anyway
and dont kick yourself too much for not taking her to the hospital
u was obviously in shock

..

jayaredee said:

I think you are a remarkable individual.

Ace said:

don't be hard on yourself, i suspect you were in shock and not thinking entirly clearly, at least you had the decency to stop.

and hopefully that small kindness might have changed her perspective just a little.

MarieLouise said:

It's not necessarily sad that other people don't do anything. Some just don't know what to do really. It doesn't make them bad people.

klhk said:

I think you are too

Not on the same level, but the same issue:

There was an old man with Parkinson's disease trying to cross the street by himself (I later learned he was AWOL from the nursing home, heh). He kept falling and falling and pickign himself up. The light turned green, and everyone just started driving or going around him. I just couldn't believe it!

I pulled my car over and helped him get across the street safely and into the grocery store. His knees were bloody, even though he had kneepads on.

That moment still haunts me, and I still think of what I should've/could've done.

shausler said:

Ya know, Shaus, normally I'd be laughing right along with ya (My sense of humour is as black as they come), but right now it's just not funny.

jayaredee said:

University Avenue, heading South, right beside Queen's Park.

Alcop0p said:

This is what I tried to tell her.

Ace said:

yes i know that

thats why i edited my stupid ass comments


sorry

analbolique said:

Have I said this makes people bad? I just said it makes me sad.

analbolique said:

I won't get into defining what a "bad" person is (too big a question), but everyone knows what they should do when they see someone try and kill themselves.

Alcop0p said:

Right, but when you're dead you can't have any regrets and those left behind will get on with their lives. I'm glad for anyone who ever committed suicide that they found the peace which they could not find in this life. Too bad for the survivors that they have to deal with it, but maybe if people wouldn't see death as such a horrible thing the pain wouldn't be so bad. People from other cultures seem to deal with it much better than we do in general.

Ace said:

Right and maybe it takes them a little longer to realize what went on and what they should have done. People do the strangest things when they panic or are in shock even when they "know" what to do. Just like you now realize it might have been better if you would have made sure she would have gotten some professional help.

You did the best thing. Hopefully she'll call you today. Maybe the hospital wasn't the best thing for her anyway...

analbolique said:

I hope so. I hope it's not that people just can't be bothered to get involved.

CarrieLee said:

I should have made sure she got somewhere safe before letting her go.

analbolique said:


I think I have an idea of what you mean by this. But still, I think this is also a culturally biased opinion. Each individual, from every culture, goes through an amount of pain when losing someone beloved. Some ways of saying goodbye are maybe a bit more authentic, but I don't know.

But I'm jacking this thread by now, and I don't want to do that.
[Edited 5/4/05 7:33am]