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Man hit by car; No one stops to help
A surveillance camera captures disturbing footage of a hit and run in Hartford, Connecticut, that left a man paralyzed. But what it shows after
the accident is what really has the police chief outraged. "The guy landed on the ground, blood everywhere, his head was cracked." Angel Torres was crossing the street on Friday (May 30) when a car swerved over the center line, hit him and kept going. Torres landed in the middle of the road. Ten cars passed by Torres. Two others turned around and went the opposite way. Witnesses who stopped to gawk never called 911. A police officer, on his way to another call, saw Torres in the street and called dispatch for an ambulance. "It's a clear indication of what we have become," said Hartford Police Chief Daryl Roberts. "We see a man laying in the street who has been hit by a car and people are just driving by, and people around him walk by him. People always say 'what are the police doing'. That is not a police problem." Police are now asking witnesses who kept driving to contact detectives and do the right thing. "At the end of the day, we have to look at ourselves and understand that our moral values have changed and we have no regard for ourselves," said Chief Roberts. http://www.wkrg.com/news/article/man...to_help/14587/ It's a testament to the quality of life when somethign like this is caught on film...definently grounds for Social Psychology study on Helping behavior. |
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I wouldn't have stopped but I would've called the police.
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I live right around Hartford, and work/go to school there. It's a huge story around here, for a variety of reasons. The victim's son is shown on the front page of the main newspaper (The Hartford Courant) pleading for witnesses to come forward. The street where it happened, Park Street, is a fairly busy area of the city, which makes it even more astounding that no one came to his aid.
Also, to say that the city's administration and police department have been under scrutiny lately doesn't begin to describe things. A lot of people are watching closely to see how this case is handled (or mishandled, whatever the case may be). |
callous onlookers :mad: ... never want to be in that city if you need help, and not surprised since most people in Connecticut are wealthy and don't care about anyone else.
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That seems to be the problem with people today, the hell with our fellow man kind! Would I have stopped, a big hell yes, I care and am not totaly lethargic about things. I hope they get the person that hit and killed this person and prosecute them to the fullest. That is vehicular homocide and that is a felony! |
Don't jaywalk, people. :( I would definitely have stopped and called the police. I might have even gone to check on him and reassure him that help was on the way. But, there's only so much one can do who is not trained to handle medical emergencies. If you touch him and hurt him more, you can be sued (good samaritan laws be damned). If you're in the middle of the street, you could get hit yourself.
But, I could have sworn that one of the people who ran into the road put a phone to his/her ear. Maybe I was just seeing things. |
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I KNOW I would have called the police and I probably would have gone to his side. Of course I would not move him as I am not trained, but I would have done more than make a u-turn. That is really sad. |
Good example of bystander apathy. It's really disturbing to know that the more people are present in a crisis the less likely they will help.
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As someone who lives in Connecticut, I have to ask - And you know this how???
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I grew up in the greater Hartford area, and live their currently, so here's my take on it: Only a very small section of Hartford is what one would consider wealthy. If you're talking about the West End, around UConn Law, or the area around the Governor's Mansion, then yes, those areas are extremely wealthy. However, the rest of the city (Hartford's North End, the Albany Ave. area, etc.) is far from wealthy. I wouldn't even say that "most" of the city is wealthy; it's concentrated in a few neighborhoods. Now, if you're talking about the people who come to work in Hartford (like the lawyers and businesspeople), then yes, there are a lot of upper middle class/upper class workers who come into the city every day. |
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Wow! A whole month!!!
:rolleyes: I have lived here for 10 years and work not too far from where this happened. KSigkid grew up here; I know there are others here on GC who live in Connecticut. Something tells me our Connecticut experience beats your "whole month." Sorry to hijack this very serious thread, but broad generalizations don't help anybody. Quote:
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Back to the subject:
Is there a "good Samaritan law" or policy in place in Connecticut? Just asking? Pedestrians always have the right away in my state. I guess folks do not care or honor it these days--too busy running along trying to get where they need to go and how to get there... The issue is if we ALL don't slow down sometimes in our lives, our bodies, our age, The Universe or God will do it for you, one way or another... That is why NUMEROUS cultures practice a form of meditation/prayer, etc. From a biological standpoint somehow that act of self-induced calm focuses our thoughts, organs and beings to where we can have awareness and consciousness of all our actions. Apparently, both persons involved were meander in life until something hit them... The guy that speed on, has to deal with this, he will be found out over time... And the guy who was struck if he heals in any form will know his faith in humanity is lost--forever... Somehow, I just know "The Universe" will respond to this issue... |
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http://www.cga.ct.gov/2007/pub/Chap9...Sec52-557b.htm |
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The reason why I ask is because what if the city, county, state had a true disaster where "average Joe Smoe" is the 1st responder? I guess on the West Coast, we kinna have to be "disasteredly prepared"--'cuz you NEVER KNOW when some craziness will go down... |
Not to make light of this situation at all, but this reminds me of that Seinfeld finale where the gang was taken to court because they failed to render aid.
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You're correct, though, in that I haven't seen much disaster preparedness in CT. We had a "chemical warfare" drill in high school where a bunch of us played victims, and I have heard of similar scattered drills over the past few years, but nothing all that regular. |
This story sickens me.I am a very caring person, so I would have stopped and helped him. It makes me sad to think that no one else did...
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This is a good example of what's called "diffusion of responsibility." The more people around, the less likely someone will come to action. They all assume someone else will, so no one does. It's actually better to get hit by a car when only a few people are around to help! Oh, and though pedestrians have the right of way, a driver is not necessarily held responsible if they hit someone crossing the road where/when they're not supposed to. Right of Way laws are intended for things like traffic signals and crosswalks. |
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I witnessed a motorcycle accident (from a bit of a distance while stuck in a traffic jam). Several people immediately jumped out of their cars. The guy had two broken legs and they dragged him to the corner. Seconds after they had him on the grass, the fuel from his bike blew into a huge fireball. The guy would have been toasted alive if they hadn't moved him out of there. They must've seen the fuel. I was calling 911 as it exploded and the operator told me they'd gotten many calls and an ambulance was on the way. I told her it just exploded so they better send a firetruck too. I was proud that my community got involved that way. I don't think it would be that way in a busy area of one of the bigger cities around here though.
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Welp you know how we all are up here. If they don't actually straight help you out, they will at least have multiple 911 calls so that the authorities will come. And you heard about those teens on the bus that at least tried CPR to dude who fell out on the bus... And this place is the ONLY place that honors peds right of way. Chit, you walk in the wrong place in SoCal, you might get decapitated... |
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I JUST CALL 911 because dude 1 behind me got in a fight with another dude 2 behind him!!! :eek: It was crazy!!! Dude 2 behind dude 1 got out of his car and commenced to beating dude 1's azz!!! Like, up here, that does not happen in the suburbs!!! It was one crazy day... |
I saw a security camera picture of the man down in the street.
Pretty sad commentary. |
did anyone notice the 2 cars in the cam?
Like one car was chasing another.....? |
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I'll be honest. I would stop and call 911 - but wouldn't actually touch the person or administer CPR unless I had gloves and/or a bridge with me. There are just too many diseases one can catch when universal precautions aren't taken.
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One sees both just about every day and the ones involved always seem to get away from what ever mess is left in their trail:mad::( |
I grew up in Hartford my dad still lives here and im currently babysitting for a family in hartford. The street this happened on is Park Street which is NOT in either the West End ( the "wealthy" neighborhood) or the business district where "wealthy" people commute into work everyday. In actually its a incredibly poor area so your idea that because it happened in a area full wealthy people and its because they are wealthy that choose to do nothing holds no weight. The demographic of the street and its surrounding area is actually quite the opposite. Furthermore knowing what I know about the area im not shocked that the cars who hit the man didnt stop and that other people did not stop. And the broad generalization of CT being nothing but wealthy and there for uncaring people is rude and ignorant.
ETA: Hartford does not in ANY way have a reputation for being wealthy in fact if you say to a person from surrounding towns that your from hartford the actual city it carries a stereotype of being from the "ghetto". And not to start a whole debate about police and such but when i was discussing this event this evening a friend mentioned that many people driving on that street are probably hesitant to stop because they do not want to involve themselves in something with the hartford police. Which is a really good point. |
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