People say things all the time when things that affect them happen - "Because of (blank), I will no longer do (blank)" or "After seeing that, I will no longer do this", etc. The problem with these statements is that life goes on, we revert back to our normal habits, and until we are reminded of the event again, we haven't changed a thing.
Well, sign me up for that list after what I saw today, the first one and hopefully not the second one. As many of you may have seen on my Facebook today, I was on the scene of an accident today in which a young lady out for a morning jog downtown was struck by a vehicle while crossing a street. She was probably no more than 50 yards in front of me when this happened and had been standing right next to me at the previous stoplight.
I did what any normal person who saw this happen would do and, along with about 10 other people, called 911, calmly explained what I had just seen happen and requested assistance and stayed on the line until help arrived. I was asked by the operator to see if there were any noticeable injuries and to check and see if she was awake so I had to actually walk over and look in this poor girls face. She was awake, crying and breathing hard, no external injuries present. As I found out after, one of the gentlemen that had stopped to help was Austin City Council member Mike Martinez, who is a former fire fighter.
The person that had hit her pulled over immediately and was still there when I wandered off towards my appointment. I wish I had done more to see if they were alright too, but I didn't.
I will never forget the sound that was made when that car struck that young lady, nor will I forget the look in her eyes as she looked up at me. She was terrified and in shock and I can't say that the look I gave her back was any different.
Who knows who was at fault, really? From what I remember, she was crossing at a don't walk and the car had the green but from info I gathered from others on that street corner, the car was behind a bus and apparently got tired of waiting for them to load and pulled out from behind the bus and accelerated to make it through the intersection. She never saw them coming.
As a runner, this terrified me to no end. I have crossed so many streets, earbuds blaring, having scanned the intersection a few strides out to make sure I was safe moving forward, just like she did. It's not like I have survivors guilt and wonder why this happened to her and not me or anything like that. It's just scary because I can admit to having been less than cautious from time-to-time, more worried about my pace as opposed to my safety. Side note: she is apparently doing well, no life-threatening injuries, etc which is great news.
As a driver, and in my opinion a pretty safe one, I can guarantee that I have allowed a deadline or timeframe affect how I acted behind the wheel. I have sped up to make intersections, I have cursed those cautiously moving through the streets, I have texted while driving or been more worried about the perfect song playing, I have been that asshole, and I'm not too proud to admit it.
After getting my last DWI, I told plenty of people that I would gladly accept all three of my DWIs so that no one else I knew had to experience that 'pain'. I wanted to let others learn from my mistakes and that's why I have let my struggles be widely known and have attempted transparency with anyone who has asked me about my situation. I feel as if I know enough people that I can help keep others out of jail.
Anyway, I use that metaphor to illustrate my point for today. I plan to learn from what I witnessed today. A lot of times, people like to close their eyes in the face of things that scare them or when things make them uncomfortable and as much as seeing this today kind of ruined my day, if I learn something from it and can change the way I live because of it, then I will accept it. How, you ask, do I plan on changing my day-to-day operations based on an accident and nothing more? Glad you asked!
When running, I will:
- Obey any and all don't walk signs, even if there are no cars in sight
- Never have my music up so loud to where I have drowned out everything around me.
- Attempt to run in areas designated for running only, like the multiple trails provided in town. I understand the fun of going on a city run, but is the risk worth the scenery?
- Always wear my RoadID in case something like this were to happen to me.
- May even start running with my phone, although that may take an act of Congress.
When driving, I will:
- Be mindful of all intersections, especially in areas populated with many pedestrians
- Be courteous to other drivers and make a concerted effort to maintain calm behind the wheel, especially when up against a deadline. If that means leaving my house 15 minutes early, so be it.
- No longer look at my phone behind the wheel of a car, not for music, not for a text message.
What I saw was nothing more than an accident and I will pray for the young lady who was struck as well as the person who was driving the car. I wouldn't have wanted to be either and am not sure how I'd be dealing with things had I been behind the wheel of that car. I feel blessed that she wasn't seriously physically injured, or worse, and I'm sure many others feel the same.
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