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So I was in an SUV today. My buddy was driving. I was in the front passenger seat. My wife was in the next row back with my buddy's dog. His two young daughters were in the 3rd row.
We were doing about 80km down a small highway. Suddenly a small SUV/crossover type vehicle coming the other way was swerving all over the road. He was coming right at us for a moment then swerved to his lane, through it, went towards the ditch, hit a boulder, and rolled straight over the rock. The back end of his vehicle went straight over the front end and it ended upon all four wheels in the ditch; so a complete 360 degree flip.
It was almost directly beside us when it hit the boulder and it made a terrible noise. I thought for sure someone was dead.
My buddy pulled over. I grabbed his arm and said "Are you okay?" and he was. It was a shocking sight that we just witnessed. So I left the vehicle and ran across the highway to the crash. Honestly I was almost in tears because I thought there was no way anyone could survive, but I was running to help if I could. One other man got there before me. I think he was the vehicle directly behind the vehicle that crashed. The driver had already emerged from the wreck. I asked him "How many people are in there?" He said "None." I said "Are you okay? Did you hit your head?" He said "No. I am okay." I asked again "Is there anyone else in your car?" He said "I was alone."
The vehicle front end was crushed. The entire passenger compartment was filled with air bags. The glass was smashed everywhere.
The guy looked at me and said "How am I alive?" I said "I do not know, but I am happy you are." He hugged me and a couple other guys. He said "God saved me today."
This sounds dramatic, but I am telling you that if you heard that crash you would have thought the worst.
So my buddy and I both did not see what happened. The first thing we saw was him all over the road. But two guys coming the other way behind the crash victim (the first guy on scene and a guy that got there after me) did see what happened. Apparently the car that was probably two cars ahead of us was driving about 2/3rds in the oncoming lane. So the guy swerved into the shoulder to avoid a head-on collision, then lost control (it was a "soft shoulder"...so loose gravel) and came back on the road (headed towards us), then turned hard back and went right into the boulder. The one guy said he saw the driver of the car that was in their lane - he just said it was a woman. That car did not stop - they said it just kept driving.
We left before the police arrived because we did not witness what caused the start of the crash.
Anyways, one thing I realized afterwards. Four people rushed to help a stranger in a potentially dangerous situation (I expected that the vehicle may be on fire, on unstable ground, etc.). The two guys who were following the victim, my buddy, and me. Four men.
My wife stayed in the car. The one guy who pulled over was driving a pickup truck and I saw an adult woman (who looked to be able-bodied) sitting in the passenger seat. I did not look around more, so maybe there were more women stopped, maybe not. But no women came to help.
I am not complaining. I am just pointing out that it seems that when the shit hits the fan, it is men who are expected to step-up and face the danger.
We were doing about 80km down a small highway. Suddenly a small SUV/crossover type vehicle coming the other way was swerving all over the road. He was coming right at us for a moment then swerved to his lane, through it, went towards the ditch, hit a boulder, and rolled straight over the rock. The back end of his vehicle went straight over the front end and it ended upon all four wheels in the ditch; so a complete 360 degree flip.
It was almost directly beside us when it hit the boulder and it made a terrible noise. I thought for sure someone was dead.
My buddy pulled over. I grabbed his arm and said "Are you okay?" and he was. It was a shocking sight that we just witnessed. So I left the vehicle and ran across the highway to the crash. Honestly I was almost in tears because I thought there was no way anyone could survive, but I was running to help if I could. One other man got there before me. I think he was the vehicle directly behind the vehicle that crashed. The driver had already emerged from the wreck. I asked him "How many people are in there?" He said "None." I said "Are you okay? Did you hit your head?" He said "No. I am okay." I asked again "Is there anyone else in your car?" He said "I was alone."
The vehicle front end was crushed. The entire passenger compartment was filled with air bags. The glass was smashed everywhere.
The guy looked at me and said "How am I alive?" I said "I do not know, but I am happy you are." He hugged me and a couple other guys. He said "God saved me today."
This sounds dramatic, but I am telling you that if you heard that crash you would have thought the worst.
So my buddy and I both did not see what happened. The first thing we saw was him all over the road. But two guys coming the other way behind the crash victim (the first guy on scene and a guy that got there after me) did see what happened. Apparently the car that was probably two cars ahead of us was driving about 2/3rds in the oncoming lane. So the guy swerved into the shoulder to avoid a head-on collision, then lost control (it was a "soft shoulder"...so loose gravel) and came back on the road (headed towards us), then turned hard back and went right into the boulder. The one guy said he saw the driver of the car that was in their lane - he just said it was a woman. That car did not stop - they said it just kept driving.
We left before the police arrived because we did not witness what caused the start of the crash.
Anyways, one thing I realized afterwards. Four people rushed to help a stranger in a potentially dangerous situation (I expected that the vehicle may be on fire, on unstable ground, etc.). The two guys who were following the victim, my buddy, and me. Four men.
My wife stayed in the car. The one guy who pulled over was driving a pickup truck and I saw an adult woman (who looked to be able-bodied) sitting in the passenger seat. I did not look around more, so maybe there were more women stopped, maybe not. But no women came to help.
I am not complaining. I am just pointing out that it seems that when the shit hits the fan, it is men who are expected to step-up and face the danger.
