Last night on the ride home from work I had an unpleasant experience. Coming up to one of the many stoplights on the ride home, I noticed that traffic was backed up in an unusual manner - rather than being stopped *in* the intersection, the blockage was *after*. I waited a full light cycle - I steadfastly refuse to be one of those morons that proceeds into a backed-up intersection on a yellow light - and then came upon the reason for the back-up.
Somehow, a pedestrian had managed to wedge themselves under the driver's front side of a passing car. It was hard to ascertain exactly what happened, but my WAG is that the driver went around someone turning left at the intersection and didn't see the pedestrian on the side of the road. In any case, when I passed the scene there was a person wedged underneath the car, and sneakers out in the roadway that cars were driving around.
I pulled over to see if there was anything I could do - there were no emergency vehicles on scene at this point - and called 911 as a first option. The calls are routed to the MA State Police, and I was in the process of describing the scene (MVA involving a pedestrian, trapped under vehicle, etc.) when to my relief I saw flashing blue lights approaching. I informed the 911 operator that local PD was on scene and ended the call.
At this point I realized that the best thing I could do was get out of the way - this was going to involve extrication and immediate onsite trauma care - so I put the truck back in gear and started off. I didn't get more than a half-mile away when I saw the firetrucks and an ambulance en route, so I left knowing that the cavalry was almost there and certainly better equipped to handle things than I.
As I continued my drive home, it hit me. The person (who would later turn out to be an adult male) appeared to me to be a school-aged girl somewhere around my own kids' age (hey. It's hard to tell age and gender when there's a 2,500 pound car on top of someone). When I went by, the victim was face down on the ground with their eyes open, and it was the scariest thing I think I've ever seen. I thought about that person's parents getting that call, and just lost it for a moment.
And then I realized: What would I have done if emergency services *hadn't* been moments away?
The last time I had CPR training my son was an infant. I've had basic First Aid recently through Scouting, but that covers minor injuries the likes of which Scouts are likely to encounter - bug bites, cuts, scrapes, broken bones, etc. Not serious injuries requiring CPR and such. Fortunately, Mrs. G. works at the local hospital, which runs CPR and advanced First Aid classes frequently for the employees as well as the public, so she's going to keep an ear out for the next class - which I will be attending. I'm also going to significantly revamp my truck First Aid kit to include a wider range of options (right now it's mainly bandaids and Ace bandages).
I figure it can't hurt to have the training - at the very least I'll be better prepared if something unfortunate happens out in the woods or at the range. I'll have a better idea what to do should I come across another scene like the one I witnessed last night, so that I can do more than call 911 and pray the next time. The feeling of utter helplessness I experienced while sitting in my truck on the phone with the 911 operator is something I hope I never experience again.
And now I have to give up coffee for Lent, because that's the agreement I made with Him when I was praying...
That is all.
