Big Bada Boom!

These events happen from out of nowhere. They happen suddenly and without warning. To the observer they happen in the blink of an eye, but to the participant they occur in slow motion. They can see every moment of every second unfold before their eyes yet are unable to alter the course they are on. We all know the behavior expected of the participants in such occasions, but what of the observers? As usual for one of my posts some clarity is needed I see.

I was on my way home from work today after one of those rare amazing days. Everything fell into place, everyone got along, and we went out as an office together for lunch. It was one of those days in a good way.

So there I am, sitting at a red light going home when I hear a loud sustained honk. I glance up to see a black Honda making a left turn regardless of the white Honda that was going straight. Needless to say the loud sustained honk was quickly followed by a loud crash, the squealing of white Honda's tires as it spun out of control and then, quite unexpectedly came a second crash and not from the Honda careening out of control. Rather it seems the black Honda was not finished with its chaos creation and it just had to slam into the front end of yet another white Honda. Yes, it was Honda day here in Miami and they were only giving them obviously to the driving impaired.

The proper thing for those involved in surprise parties such as this is to exchange information after making sure everyone is alive and reasonably well. What exactly was I supposed to do having seen the whole thing? My instinct told me to pull over and help, but a co-worker driving behind me drove on. Was this the correct thing to do? Was I placing myself in danger or being nosy by pulling over?

I walked over to the carnage after every other witness quickly fled the scene and checked each car to make sure the people were alive. I offered my cellphone to anyone who might have needed it and asked if they needed a witness at all. They all were fine and thanked me, but said they didn't need me so I left. Only one other person stopped.

Was I stupid for stopping or was I wrong for leaving? I really don't know what is the “right” thing to do. Luckily I do not witness that many accidents.

In regards to Birdie's post of yesterday, my inner child did say “cool, car crashes rock”, then I quickly grounded the little bastard for being so insensitive.