Since my cousin never much talked about that accident and would hush anyone that started the hero talk, none of us knew that the guy had tracked him down after he got out of the hospital.  They had kept in touch off and on for all those years.  When he heard of Keith’s death, he flew in just so he could say thank you one last time.

(cont)
He came up to the car where we were all working hard to try and get the kid out and keep him from choking on his own blood and so forth.  When that supervisor saw first hand what we dealt with and that we were willing to do whatever to help that kid he jumped right in and did whatever we told him.  That following Monday he called our Fire Chief and told him to send him the cost of what we needed and he would take care of it. 3 days later we had approval for a rescue, jaws of life and all the extras.

I tell you all of this to say, you never know what you might do in a situation of crisis but MOST PEOPLE will do anything to help their fellow human being in a time of tragedy, simply because we have compassion and we do not like to see others suffer.

I’m not trying to be on my high horse, I just want to everyone to think about it when they come upon a wreck, they maybe make the difference in someones life.

BamaBob:  That is a sweet and touching story.  It is a shame that he never got to thank him in person while he was still alive (I assumed he didn’t….)

I agree there are sue happy people out there in this world and yes there are risk, but there are risk in everything we do.  To me a human life is worth the risk.

One last story.  Many years ago when we were trying to get out Rescue and jaws of life the board of supervisors in our county and our E911 Director were STEADFAST against it and fought us at every turn.  Prom night came and about 8 pm we got a wreck about 15 minutes out of town, it was raining and we only had one ambulance in our little town.  When we arrived, one many was trapped and 2 other were seriously injured.  The ambulance took the 2 injured and called for another ambulance to come from 30 miles away.  The kid that was trapped had severe facial and mouth trauma.  A volunteer EMT kept him from choking on his own blood. One of the supervisors came up on the scene

What you see when you stop at an accident site is sometimes not pretty.  I have had brain matter on my hands more than once.  The hardest for me is children, especially infants because they can’t tell you what’s wrong.  But I would never pass on by, they will just have to sue me.  Of course all they will get is the bills, LOL.

When I was 17 years old, I was going through asmall town called Opp. A truck went flying by and was obviously weaving. It took out a few mailboxes and sped out of site. Less than a minute later, we heard a loud noise and then saw the truck upside down in the opposite ditch.There was a guy laying on his back. We pulled over and kept our headlights shining up the opposite of this hill we were on. Turned on the flashers and ran to the guy. He was twitching and because of graphics no one needs, lets just say, we knew he wasn’t with us. We ran to call 911 and we ran to the truck to see if anyone else was in it. While we were racing around trying to make sure we didn’t miss anyone, a car came over the hill and ran over the guy again and hit someone who had stopped on the other side. I stop now, but I call 911 from my car and try to warn cars.
The only question from an investigator I was shocked about: “You didn’t touch the guy, did you?” It was over and over. I have nightmares to this day.

Nice shots. Now get out of the way.

mustuknow - I agree and would probably do what I thought was best at the time and worry about liability later.  But, ya just never how people will react down the road.

Years and years ago one of my first cousins and his friends came upon an accident.  A guy was trapped in a truck and flames were whipping around.  People say everyone that had stopped were standing around with their jaws dropped, not knowing what to do.  My cousin didn’t even give it any thought so witnesses say.  He practically ripped the door off of that truck and scooped that 220 pound man up like a baby and ran from the fire.

My cousin suffered some pretty severe burns to his hands and arms, but he never much talked about the incident.  Almost 20 years later I am sitting at my cousin’s eulogy and this big guy walks up to the podium none of us recognized.  He introduced himself and began to tell the story of that day.  He concluded by saying he would never forget the young stranger that carried him to safety.

It is far better to stop and call for help than to just pass on by.  I myself was in a bad accident 2 years ago on the interstate where I was hit by 2 different 18 wheelers.  There were MANY, MANY cars just flew right on by.  FINALLY, 2 young men (college students) stopped in front of my truck, turned on their hazard lights and came back to my to see if I was okay.  They stayed with me and talked to me until Emergency Services arrived.  I will never be able to thank them enough.  I was comforting just knowing someone was coming and having someone there to talk to me while I sat terrified and unable to move my right side.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the liability of stopping and helping someone but there is also liability in not stopping and not helping someone in need.  I would much rather stop and call for help, not touch the victim but simply wait for Emergency Personnel to arrive than I would get a supeona in a couple years with a picture of me in my vehicle speeding past

DEW26M and BamaBob you both bring up GREAT POINTS.  However, what I was referring to is if you come upon an accident, it never hurts to pull over and call 911.  That away when Emergency Responders are looking for the scene they have another vehicle CLEAR AND VISIBLE on the side of the roadway or whatever.

I understand the concern of whether to help or not because of the liability and as a Firefighter/EMT of 17 years I would most definitely tell someone not to move ANYONE who has been in an accident of any nature UNLESS THEIR LIFE IS IN IMMEDIATE DANGER. (i.e. the car they are in is on fire and you have no way of putting it out..)  If you come upon an accident victim who is trapped in a vehicle, call 911 and try to be as calm as possible and tell the operator what you see and EXACTLY where you are.  In the event you come up on someone who has been ejected, leave them alone, if they are in the road park far enough back to warn other drivers and use your hazard lights.

mustuknow, that information is SO FAR from being true. I mean, not the part about the wreck, but this part “No one will ever fault you for stopping and trying to help ESPECIALLY IF EMERGENCY SERVICES is not there yet!!! “
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Sorry but in the USA we are well known for frivolous lawsuits. Look into how many people have been sued by others after saving their life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying NOT to help, but realize that if and when you do, you can be held accountable for any sustained injuries. It’s a judgment call, and a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. In Alabama, there is no laws to protect you from being sued by someone whom you are trying to help.