This is about 2 weeks overdue, but I promised a good friend that I'd write this down and since I need practice with documentation, blogging isn't a terrible idea. Plus it gives me a chance to write in non-APA-format, so YAY!!!
On the morning of March 3rd at approximately 6:40am, a seemingly normal day, as I was headed to school something extraordinary happened. I was sitting at a red light to make a left hand turn to get onto the freeway when a young woman crossed in front of me. This is normal. Lots of people cross the street every day. This woman, however, proceeded to come around to the passenger side, open the door and sit down next to me. Frantically, she tells me that someone is after her, that she's having a heart attack and that I need to take her to the hospital. Green Light. I go the only way I know (since I'm still not very familiar with the area), while she insists that I'm not going the right way. She grabbed my phone and asked if she could call 9-1-1, but I took the phone and said I would call - which I did, immediately (this is all under 90 seconds, really). I was again stuck at a red light, getting onto the freeway but in the opposite direction that I normally go - I really only know a few places and was going to take her to a church parking lot, somewhere away from the intersection that someone might follow her to, but also a safe place for an ambulance to come get her. As I'm on the phone with 911, stuck at a red light, this girl continues to freak out. She's having a heart attack, I can't stop, people are after her, she doesn't know what she did to make people angry. She looks out the passenger window and points and says "that's him, he knows I'm here, he's after me!" at a homeless man crossing the intersection. I watched him for a minute, wondering if what she was saying was true, but quickly realized that he was not "looking" for anything and just staring straight in front of him as he kept on walking. I tried to reassure her that he wasn't after her and no one was going to get her from my car and that I was going to get her help. She admitted to me that she was on meth. Green light. As I pull onto the freeway she started to freak out again, saying I was going the wrong way. She asked me, "Do you know me? Are you in on it?" and when I told her I had never met her before and she was the one who got in my car, she seemed leery. She didn't believe I was on the phone with 911, so I put them on speaker so they could ask her a few questions themselves. I got off the freeway one exit away, staying within the vicinity of the area I was familiar with and pulled onto the first side street, so the ambulance had a place to come. I tried to reassure her that they would be able to help her, because I didn't know where a hospital was, but she did not want me to stop. Before I could come to a full stop, she opened the door and booked it out of my car and across the street, dodging traffic. It took me a minute to find the street signs and let the dispatcher know where I was, but by the time they found me (I seriously thought they could track cell phones, but that's a whole other topic) the girl was out of my sight and they said they couldn't send someone out if I wasn't sure where she was. I asked them to stay on the line with me while I drove a few blocks in the direction I saw her go, in hopes that I could just keep an eye on her till an ambulance got to her. By the time I found her, she had gone into a church parking lot (I'm so smart) and there were a few people nearby. I confirmed her location to 911, and they said a few other calls came in and paramedics were already on their way. When I got off the phone, I pulled into the parking lot to ask if she was ok and the gentleman standing next to her gave me a suspicious look and asked if I knew her. (I'm presuming the first thing she said to him was the first thing she said to me, "Someone is after me!") I said no, and that she had hopped into my car just a little while ago and was just checking if she was ok. He said they had everything under control and I thanked him before leaving. I waited across the street for just a few more minutes before I heard sirens, and proceeded to school once I saw the ambulance enter the parking lot. I have no idea what happened to this girl after. I can only hope that the kindness of those helping her (myself included), made an impact.
So, 'why didn't I have my doors locked?' (because that's the first question everyone has asked so far) Simple, of the 12+ years I have been driving, I never had someone randomly get into my car! I also keep my doors locked now.
A few people have disagreed in various degrees on how I handled the situation and my decision to help. To those who think I did the wrong thing, you are entitled to your opinion, but what's done is done and sharing that opinion is not going to change the past. Had circumstances been different, I may have reacted differently. But I truly believe that she saw me as someone who would help her in a time of need. Others would have reacted differently, and maybe that's the reason I was there in that moment.
Also, I even made it to my first class or the day! About 30 minutes late, but I made it!!
On the morning of March 3rd at approximately 6:40am, a seemingly normal day, as I was headed to school something extraordinary happened. I was sitting at a red light to make a left hand turn to get onto the freeway when a young woman crossed in front of me. This is normal. Lots of people cross the street every day. This woman, however, proceeded to come around to the passenger side, open the door and sit down next to me. Frantically, she tells me that someone is after her, that she's having a heart attack and that I need to take her to the hospital. Green Light. I go the only way I know (since I'm still not very familiar with the area), while she insists that I'm not going the right way. She grabbed my phone and asked if she could call 9-1-1, but I took the phone and said I would call - which I did, immediately (this is all under 90 seconds, really). I was again stuck at a red light, getting onto the freeway but in the opposite direction that I normally go - I really only know a few places and was going to take her to a church parking lot, somewhere away from the intersection that someone might follow her to, but also a safe place for an ambulance to come get her. As I'm on the phone with 911, stuck at a red light, this girl continues to freak out. She's having a heart attack, I can't stop, people are after her, she doesn't know what she did to make people angry. She looks out the passenger window and points and says "that's him, he knows I'm here, he's after me!" at a homeless man crossing the intersection. I watched him for a minute, wondering if what she was saying was true, but quickly realized that he was not "looking" for anything and just staring straight in front of him as he kept on walking. I tried to reassure her that he wasn't after her and no one was going to get her from my car and that I was going to get her help. She admitted to me that she was on meth. Green light. As I pull onto the freeway she started to freak out again, saying I was going the wrong way. She asked me, "Do you know me? Are you in on it?" and when I told her I had never met her before and she was the one who got in my car, she seemed leery. She didn't believe I was on the phone with 911, so I put them on speaker so they could ask her a few questions themselves. I got off the freeway one exit away, staying within the vicinity of the area I was familiar with and pulled onto the first side street, so the ambulance had a place to come. I tried to reassure her that they would be able to help her, because I didn't know where a hospital was, but she did not want me to stop. Before I could come to a full stop, she opened the door and booked it out of my car and across the street, dodging traffic. It took me a minute to find the street signs and let the dispatcher know where I was, but by the time they found me (I seriously thought they could track cell phones, but that's a whole other topic) the girl was out of my sight and they said they couldn't send someone out if I wasn't sure where she was. I asked them to stay on the line with me while I drove a few blocks in the direction I saw her go, in hopes that I could just keep an eye on her till an ambulance got to her. By the time I found her, she had gone into a church parking lot (I'm so smart) and there were a few people nearby. I confirmed her location to 911, and they said a few other calls came in and paramedics were already on their way. When I got off the phone, I pulled into the parking lot to ask if she was ok and the gentleman standing next to her gave me a suspicious look and asked if I knew her. (I'm presuming the first thing she said to him was the first thing she said to me, "Someone is after me!") I said no, and that she had hopped into my car just a little while ago and was just checking if she was ok. He said they had everything under control and I thanked him before leaving. I waited across the street for just a few more minutes before I heard sirens, and proceeded to school once I saw the ambulance enter the parking lot. I have no idea what happened to this girl after. I can only hope that the kindness of those helping her (myself included), made an impact.
So, 'why didn't I have my doors locked?' (because that's the first question everyone has asked so far) Simple, of the 12+ years I have been driving, I never had someone randomly get into my car! I also keep my doors locked now.
A few people have disagreed in various degrees on how I handled the situation and my decision to help. To those who think I did the wrong thing, you are entitled to your opinion, but what's done is done and sharing that opinion is not going to change the past. Had circumstances been different, I may have reacted differently. But I truly believe that she saw me as someone who would help her in a time of need. Others would have reacted differently, and maybe that's the reason I was there in that moment.
Also, I even made it to my first class or the day! About 30 minutes late, but I made it!!
