Update [2005-8-4 15:55:35 by Thorby Baslim]: They caught the guy who did this! An anonymous tip to a police hot line led the police to the suspect and he is now in jail! [update]
I work for Diebold (no I don't work on voting machines!) as an ATM technician. This means I drive all over town, and usually at night and usually by myself. A couple of nights ago I had a rather unpleasant experience that prompted me to write an email to my work mates and supervisors.
Below is the mail:
It's a bit after 4:00 in the morning and I can't sleep, because tonight I was not ready for something.
I was going east on xxxxxxxx to my last job about 11:00 pm when out of the drivers door window I saw a couple of people standing by the curb and someone laying in the street. I did a quick u-turn and put my flashers on. I kept in the street so I would force cars to go around whatever was happening. I got out of my van and saw a woman lying in the bike lane on her right side. Around her head and down the gutter was a lot of blood. I asked if anyone had called 911, and one of the two guys there was on the phone to 911. The two guys seemed reluctant to touch her. I knelt down and noticed she was not breathing, was cold to the touch. and did not have a pulse. I'm pretty sure she was already dead.
At first I was lost as what to do, she was obviously dead. The one guy was still talking to 911 who asked us to do CPR. I have had CPR training, so with Cyrus's (the other guy there) help we rolled her on her back. I went back to the van and got my flashlight. We tried to make sure her throat was clear, lifted the neck, put her head back, and while I performed chest compressions, Cyrus had the harder and more grisly job of trying to give artificial respiration to a dead woman covered in blood. I had to remind him to pinch her nose shut, or it's a wasted effort. We carried on like this for approximately 5 minutes before the paramedics arrived. They then took over, kept up cpr, and took the unfortunate woman away.
It was only then that the first man, the one with the phone, pointed out the bicycle. It was lying in the road several feet away from the woman, in the bike lane. The back tire was mangled and the frame was badly bent. It then dawned on me this was a hit and run. Someone had killed her and kept going. I hope they catch his sorry ass.
Since I couldn't sleep, I've had some time to draw some lessons from this, beginning with the obvious:
- When riding a bike, wear a freakin' helmet!!! Nag your kids, spouses, friends, and anyone else you know about the importance of a bicycle helmet. I think this woman might have lived if she had been wearing one. All that blood appeared to have come from her head.
- We drive a lot, everyday, all over town. Don't get complacent. Watch out for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. The human body is no match for a 3000 pound vehicle, even at 5 mph.
- Do you have a complete and functioning first aid kit in your vehicle? Does it include a blanket? Would you know how to use it if you did have to use it? Tomorrow I'm damn sure going to purchase one.
- How many of us really, truly know how to perform CPR? My last class was almost 10 years ago while still in the Air Force. I can't guarantee that me and Cyrus did it correctly. If she had still been alive we could possibly have done more harm than good.
- Self-preservation - I work by myself 99% of the time, as do we all. What if the unthinkable happens and you get more than a paper cut? We work around electricity and machinery. What if you have a car accident? What if one of the rent-a-cops has a firearm's discharge? What if you get attacked by an irate customer? A lunatic?
Well, I got that out of my system, so maybe I can finally get some sleep.
Sincerely
xxxx xxxx
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P.S. The next day the papers carried the story. The woman was 47 and pronounced dead at the hospital. She was less than a mile from home.