I'm walking down the street with Rocky just a while ago - time for his after dinner ablutions - when a see a bicyclist heading down the opposite side of the street. (Luckily there were no cars anywhere near at the moment.) Suddenly the cyclist seems to skid and his front wheels hit the curb and he loses control of his bike and somehow, someway, he and the bike go sailing through the air and he lands flat on his back on the sidewalk with the bike on top of him.
I run across the street yelling, "Hey, hey, are you okay?" like a typical bystander. But soon as I saw him I could tell he was unconscious. At that moment a pickup comes up the side street, I look at the guy driving and I say, "Give me your cell phone. Dial 911." Half in English, half in Spanish as the guy looked Hispanic. ANYWAY, he dials the phone then hands it to me. I talk to the cops. All the while the guy is still unconscious. They tell me not to lift the bike off him, but I ignore that.
A woman pulls her vehicle to a stop across the street, she comes running to help. We lift the bike off the guy. The pick up truck leaves the scene. (Probably didn't want to hang around and talk to the cops.) Which is okay, he had nothing to do with the accident.
Meanwhile, we keep telling the guy who is barely groggy, that he's going to be okay, the ambulance is on its way. He looks like he doesn't know what happened or where he is.
Some woman comes by in her car and says, "Is he okay?" Yeah right lady, he's lying on the sidewalk for his health. We're shooting a movie.
Now here's the lucky thing: the guy was wearing a bike helmet. My dears, if you ever doubted the wisdom of a helmet, I'm here to tell you I saw living proof of how it protected the guy. Didn't keep him from going unconscious, but it protected his head from much more wicked damage. I mean, he went PLOP! on the back of his head.
God only knows what would have happened if he hadn't been wearing a helmet.
Anyway, the cops show up, then the ambulance. Neighbors come running out, everyone's abuzz. Long story short, they were able to get the guy to stand - dizzily - then they helped him onto one of those boards - tied him on, just to be on the safe side - and into the ambulance he went. But it was obvious he was still very weak and he had a great thumping lump on his elbow.
I'm telling you, never a dull moment on my street.
At any rate, reason why I'm telling you all this is the helmet thing. Next time you feel like you can get by without one, don't.
you and Rocky are heros!!!!! so glad you were there for this guy!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you were there to help.
ReplyDeleteNo, not heroes at all. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mystica. Me too. :)
ReplyDeleteThey are trying to make the wearing of helmets mandatory in the UK, but there is always opposition. However, I notice that most people do.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you and Rocky stopped to help this man and called for an ambulance.
ReplyDeleteYour advice on helmet-wearing is crucial.
Well done, we need good citizens. But not helmets - mass use has never shown any beneficial effect.(http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=16565131)
ReplyDeleteI'd be really interested to know: did this chap's helmet show any signs of crushing?
In real accidents cycle helmets hardly ever seem to crush as designed (http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/FOIA/FOIA98/PUBCOM/34C7A89B.PDF), and I'm looking for examples of where they actually have crushed (rather than broken).
Noble deed, Yvette! I hate all two-wheelers — bicycles, scooties, scooters and motorcycles — and no one in the family is allowed to ride one. I call them hell on wheels. As it is, we have near misses with those ridden recklessly by others. Stick to a car.
ReplyDeleteRosemary, even though it's mandatory here, a lot of people don't wear them. I'm always especially nervous when I see kids NOT wearing helmets.
ReplyDeleteKathy, no biggy. Anyone would have done what I did. I was just thankful that this guy's helmet protected his head as much as could be expected. It was a nasty fall.
ReplyDeleteHi Richard, no, the man's helmet was not crushed though he landed on it quite heavily. Believe me, if he hadn't been wearing the thing, he might have been killed or gotten a major concussion. He was unconscious for a few minutes, even though.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, it was a nasty fall.
Prashant: You are a strict father! I never learned to ride a bike, never could, though I tried until I finally gave up when I was almost knocked down by a car.
ReplyDeleteBut my brother rode one all over Manhattan, growing up (minus helmet), and has lived to tell about it.
I have a nephew who was almost killed in a very bad motorcycle accident so I do understand your horror of two wheeled contraptions. Truth be told, I'm not enamored of them myself.
When I cycled to the train station this morning I put my helmet on and thought of you Yvette - Fact!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice thing to say, Sergio. I hope you'll always remember to wear your helmet.
ReplyDeleteI know, I know, I'm an old nag. :)
Take care, my friend.
Yvette, you're not going to believe this, but I got knocked off my bike this morning on the way to work! I'm fine, the bike probably totalled. Can't believe the driver, who just drover across the road without looking both ways (or more impostantly, on her left where I was coming from). But I was definitely wearing my helmet - so karmically speaking ...
ReplyDeleteOh Sergio, thank goodness you're okay! Wow, talk about karma.
ReplyDeleteObviously yours is good, since you survived intact. :)
And I'm glad you were wearing your helmet.
Hugs,
Yvette