While driving down the street one day I looked to my left side, and I saw a toddler a half a block away. She was wearing nothing but a t shirt and a diaper, and was running alone toward the busy intersection I was driving down. She was oblivious to the danger she was running toward. Not one person ahead of me stopped or slowed down, they didn’t even notice her. Realizing she was about to get hit, I immediately started beeping and stopped my vehicle ten feet in front of her effectively stopping the vehicles behind me. With all the beeping the child’s neighbors came running out at the same time. The woman managed to corral the child back from the road. Upon reuniting her with her parents where we found out she had slipped the latch off the door and sneaked out. To this day I still wonder what would others have done if I had not stopped. That thought haunts me because something similar had happened to a little boy in my city just a year earlier, and that child was struck and killed.
So often we walk by people oblivious to what they are going through when they desperately need help. Often people don’t want to get involved, they are too busy or just don’t know what to do. The people in this enactment that actually noticed the child was in distress and found out she really needed help did so. The advice the commentator makes about how to handle the situation is right on. Never leave the child, or take the child somewhere else. Call the police from where they are and remain with them until help arrives. So the next time you see someone who looks like they might need help just ask them, it cannot hurt and you may save a life! If they do not need help just knowing you cared enough to ask will make the person feel good. You will also go to bed with a clear conscience, and not wondering if that person needed your help. If you were in the situation the people are in the video, would you stop and help? Please feel free to leave a comment.
