WOW. I'm sorry you had to witness that. That would shake anyone up. :( I hope that the woman and everyone else was ok. It did make me feel good to read about how the people there didn't even hesitate to run and help. I have never seen or experienced something like that first hand. While I would like to think that I would jump up and help, I wonder if I would be frozen in shock?

I too, wish that I would have gone into nursing. I could kick myself over and over and over again for not taking school more seriously.

Heatherinohio, I think the majority of us say that, wishing we had taken school more seriously.

Alisande, that had to be awful to witness that accident. I hope the woman will be OK. How was the driver in the truck that hit her?

We were one of the first people on the scene of an accident in France last summer. The man was up and walking around calling for help on his cell phone. They hit the side of a rock wall, how they were going fast enough to do that is beyond me. I remember a very windy dirt road. We had gotten lost and I was trying to find my way back to a main road. The woman in the passenger seat was hysterical, holding her arm and rocking violently back and forth. She was obviously hit by the air bag, cut up all over her arms and her mouth was bleeding. All I could think of was her neck and spinal column and how she was rocking so hard back and forth. I tried to tell her and another woman who came to help that she shouldn't move but no one understood me. I felt so helpless, so being a nurse isn't always a help.

I know some nurses who say they would never stop to help because of lawsuits. If the person you try to help dies or is injured, even though it wasn't your fault, the family could turn around and ruin your whole life.

Alisande, that had to be horrific.

I am a nurse and have stopped at accidents. It is unfortunate if states do not have laws protecting professionals who are willing to stop. Usually the injuries have been minor; however, I stopped at one accident with a fatality. That was over 30 years ago and I still think of that family often. The mom was killed and two children injured. The dad, who was not with them, was a police officer. A few years ago, my son was involved in a terrible crash on his way home. I am so glad others stopped to help him and comfort him until the ambulance crew arrived.

Wow Susan.
It can happen in split seconds. Horrible to see.

The other morning at 2:30 a.m. an 18-yr-old who was impaired, was driving the wrong way on a multi-lane highway and hit another car with a husband, wife and 2 kids. The husband was killed, mother in hospital, 2 kids not seriously injured.

19 is our legal drinking age, and he's in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, facing several charges.

He ruined a family's life, with his own stupidity.

I know how that can shake you up. I was following a car a few years ago that veered off the road and hit a large tree. The car was totaled, but thankfully the young woman (just crowned fair queen) who had fell asleep at the wheel was okay except for a bleeding lip. I was the first at the scene and just tried to keep her calm and in the car (in case there were back or neck injuries) until the paramedics arrived. She was freaking out about the car which wasn't hers, but belonged to a neighborhood car dealer who had always lent cars to the reigning queen.

Oh Susan that is awful. Thankfully you were safe but that's got to be scary to witness something like that. And to think just last week you asked if any of us had reported a dangerous driver.

Don't you think you've had enough excitement lately? I hope that the rest of the summer is uneventful.

Maire

I was in a similar accident on June 1. No injuries, luckily, just two badly smashed cars. The cops and ambulance got there within minutes. A Good Samaritan came up behimd me and offered help. He was so kind.

How was the driver in the truck that hit her?

He and his passenger seemed fine. It was a big truckâÂ"not an 18-wheeler, but big enough to make a difference.

We had two accidents in Monroe County (the Poconos) recently involving tractor-trailers. In one, this young man died when a tractor-trailer crossed the median and slammed into his car before hitting a van and critically injuring two people. The truck driver was unhurt.

The other crash was the one that triggered my post about reporting erratic drivers. I haven't seen an update on the story.

I witnessed a bad one a few years ago. I was second in line, stopped at a traffic light. Heard a siren coming up from the back. A police car was obviously on a call, and was approaching the intersection at a very high rate of speed. We could see a brown van approaching the intersection from the left, (had the green light)and it wasn't slowing down. It was attempting to cross the intersection at the same time as the policeman was coming. We all could see what was about to happen!! Sure enough, the police car plowed into the van, and actually flipped it on it's side!!
Everyone was stunned. The back door of the van opened, and groceries were flying every where. We could see that the driver and the passenger were elderly. Several people rushed to the scene. The policeman wasn't seen in his car!! He had been thrown down in the seat, and was unconscious. The hospital was close by, and help came immediately. The older couple seemed responsive and moving in the car. I don't know how!!
The policman had several broken bones. the older couple obviously didn't hear the siren, and, the cop should have slowed somewhat through an intersection, just for THAT reason. Anyway, it was surreal. Like watching something awful happening in slow motion. We were helpless to stop it.

Seeing or being first to an accident scene is never easy. I used to run with a volunteer rescue squad. All we responded to was entrapments.
My very first call was a man that was pinned under his car. I got sick almost immediately.
I eventually got better at handling my nerves for the moment, but that was over 20 years ago and I can still see quite vividly every call I was on.

On a side note, my 28 yo nephew was in an accident not too long ago. As it was told to me, he was still in the drivers seat, SCREAMING as the paramedics tried to get him out. Just then his boss came to the scene and asked to pray with him before they moved him. Surprisingly, they backed out and let him in the car. All the firefighters and emergency personnel were quiet as he prayed, Chris instantly stopped crying and took a deep breath. Then they got him to the ambulance. He had shattered his hip.