I Couldn't Just Ride Past: Where Has Our Humanity Gone?
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| One decision can change a life. If you saw someone lying motionless beside the road, would you stop? |
This morning began like hundreds of other Sunday morning bicycle rides. The roads were fairly quiet, the weather was pleasant, and I was simply enjoying another ride through Lubbock.
Then I approached an intersection that I will probably remember for the rest of my life.
At first, I could not understand what I was seeing. A young woman was lying on the corner, partially on the sidewalk and partially near the street. Her body was curled into an unnatural position, and a large piece of metal was lying across her.
My immediate thought was the worst one.
I thought she was dead.
There Was No Response
I stopped my bicycle and asked her several times if she was okay. She did not answer. She did not move, and there was nothing to indicate that she had even heard me.
I moved closer and asked again, but there was still no response. Finally, I gently tapped her arm.
She barely opened her eyes.
That was the first moment I realized she was still alive.
Her breathing was extremely shallow, and she was only barely responsive. From the appearance of her eyes, I suspected that drug use might have been involved, but I am certainly no expert. I had no way of knowing whether she had overdosed, suffered a head injury, experienced a stroke, had a diabetic emergency, or was dealing with some other serious medical problem.
What caused her condition did not matter at that moment.
She was a human being who clearly needed help.
I immediately called 911.
She Had Apparently Been There for an Hour
While I was speaking with the 911 dispatcher, a woman drove up in a pickup truck. She told me that her son had passed through the same intersection about an hour earlier and had seen the young woman lying in the exact same position.
The woman had come back to see whether she was still there. She was visibly upset that her son had seen someone lying on the ground and had not stopped to check on her or call for help.
That meant this young woman may have been lying there, barely responsive and breathing very shallowly, for at least an hour.
The intersection was not hidden or isolated. It was located between a residential neighborhood and a fairly busy shopping center. It was also Sunday morning, when people would have been driving through the area on their way to church, breakfast, shopping, or other activities.
Even as I approached the intersection, I saw one vehicle pull away from the four-way stop. Another vehicle approached, slowed down, appeared to look toward her, and then drove away.
During the time I was speaking with 911 and waiting for emergency help to arrive, two more vehicles passed through the intersection.
No one stopped.
Where Has Our Humanity Gone?
I have not been able to stop thinking about that question.
Where has our humanity gone?
I understand that people are cautious. We live in a world where people worry about scams, violence, lawsuits, or becoming involved in something they do not fully understand.
Some drivers may have assumed that the woman was sleeping. Others may have believed that she was intoxicated or using drugs. Some may have convinced themselves that someone else had already called for help.
Perhaps a few simply did not want to be inconvenienced.
But what if the assumption is wrong?
What if the person lying beside the road is having a stroke? What if they have suffered a seizure? What if they are diabetic? What if they fell and struck their head? What if they are overdosing but could still be saved?
What if that person is someone’s daughter, sister, mother, or friend?
A person does not have to touch someone, provide medical treatment, or place themselves in danger. Sometimes helping means stopping at a safe distance and calling 911.
That single action could save a life.
Someday It Could Be Me
As a cyclist, this experience affected me deeply. I have spent more than 50 years riding bicycles and have traveled more than 155,000 miles on two wheels.
Every cyclist understands that a normal ride can change in a matter of seconds. A crash, a distracted driver, a mechanical failure, heat exhaustion, or a sudden medical emergency could leave any one of us lying beside the road and unable to call for help.
Someday, the person lying on the pavement could be me.
It could be you.
It could be your spouse, your child, your parent, or your closest friend.
In that moment, we would all hope that another human being would care enough to stop.
Helping Should Not Be Extraordinary
When the police officer arrived and had heard my recollection of the events from the time I saw her until he showed up, he asked me to leave the immediate area. I understood and followed his instructions. I rode a short distance down the street and watched as the emergency medical team worked with the young woman.
For the first few minutes, they appeared to have difficulty getting her to respond. Eventually, I saw signs that she was beginning to react to them.
I do not know what happened after the ambulance arrived. I do not know her name, what caused her condition, or whether she fully recovered.
I sincerely hope she is okay.
I am not sharing this story because I believe I did anything heroic. I stopped because I could not imagine riding past a person who might be dying.
That should not make anyone a hero.
It should simply make them human.
If you see someone who appears unconscious, injured, or in serious distress, do not assume someone else has already helped. Stop at a safe distance and call 911. You may be the only person who does.
We cannot solve every problem we encounter. We cannot rescue everyone or always know exactly what to do.
But we can refuse to look away.
We can make the call.
We can still choose humanity.
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