Pantagraph.com | News | Video shows graphic hit-and-run where other pedestrians do nothing

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Mattitude1209 wrote on Jun 6, 2008 9:38 PM:

" This is a very sad and unfortunate case. I really believe that it only takes ONE person to make a difference. If at least one brave and loving individual could have stepped out in the street to help that injured man, then perhaps others would have followed suit. The comments that I have seen about this story have been very accurate and intelligent from where I see it. It's too bad that so many lack simple compassion and philanthropic abilities these days for strangers or their fellow man. It is my prayer that our country will regain these precious abilities someway somehow. Self-centeredness is a sad thing, but selflessness is a lovable and commendable thing. My prayers go out to this man and his family for the injuries and for the sickening and gut-wrenching injury and lack of support that he received for it. This just really really sickens me to see that this has happened. God speed. "

St Armadillo the Laminated wrote on Jun 6, 2008 7:07 PM:

" More outrage! The governor of Connecticut has offered the astounding sum of $10,000.00 for a reward. What is that, $5,000.00 per vehicle? "

cocoa wrote on Jun 6, 2008 5:18 PM:

" Dave ~ True, the victim was jaywalking and the 2 drivers of the vehicles were in the wrong lane. But quit throwing blame on the victim. The crux of the matter is not that someone jaywalking was hit, but that not only was he left to die by the vehicle driver, but by countless bystanders that stood and gaped at him as he lay bleeding AND CONSCIOUS on the road. Imagine being that man laying on the road and maybe you'll have a light bulb go off over your head about the situation. If you were the one laying in the road left to die, do you think you'd be thinking, "Darn! I deserve to lie here in a pool of my own blood because I didn't use the crosswalk." Seriously. "

cats55ire wrote on Jun 6, 2008 3:28 PM:

" EL DUDERINO--YOU'RE WRONG!!!!!
I would have called 911 on my cell phone and quickly rounded up 6 other people closeby to form a circle around the man. That many people would "stop traffic"!

Pls. don't compare me or another else on this message board with those apathetic people in CT!!!! You're being too judgemental!!! "

Zeva wrote on Jun 6, 2008 3:19 PM:

" I saw the video on TV and was shocked by the onlookers that did absolutely NOTHING!!!! Someone could have at least walked over to the man and talked to him until emergency crews arrived. We are living in a world it seems that everything is about themselves. Let's hope this doesn't happen to them and people just stare. I felt so sad for this man and wish I would have been there because I would have done something, even I if it was only holding his hand. I do hope he comes through this, but I thought somone on TV said he was paralyzed now. Whomever did this should be charged with attempted murder because it appeared they deliberately crossed over to hit him. Our world is coming to a close faster than anyone realizes. People are selfish and self centered and lack compassion for others these days. Screw the lawyers, care for your fellow man!! "

el duderino wrote on Jun 6, 2008 2:26 PM:

" From the way most of the people post on this blog, I wouldn't expect very many of you to handle the situation any differently. "

Dave wrote on Jun 6, 2008 2:08 PM:

" How do we know whether or not someone called 911? People were scrambling around. Maybe they were looking for a phone? If I would have been there without a cell phone I would have looked for a phone.
Plus, not everyone is capable of handing a situation like this. I'm not. I may have stopped traffic or called 911 but I would never be able to provide medical attention on a stranger in a crisis like that.
We shouldn't be so swift in condemning everyone. We don't know who were really guilty of ignoring him.
Two cars were speeding. One man was Jwalking. The bystanders who apparently did nothing weren''t the only people in the wrong here. "

Gov't oppressed Mule wrote on Jun 6, 2008 12:41 PM:

" TO: DOBUG

From the daughter's comment "our father is fighting for his life." I'm assuming he's alive but in critical condition. But this is only an assumption. "

St Armadillo the Laminated wrote on Jun 6, 2008 12:34 PM:

" Hartford Connecticut now joins the ranks of fine citys like Bloomington !
several years ago this exact thing happened to a young black man who I believe still paralyzed! "

TheRudeAwakening wrote on Jun 6, 2008 7:16 AM:

" To Jack452: You need to live with the other selfish people in Conn. Being afraid of getting hit by a car while helping someone??? You tell the other selfish people to stand on the road and stop traffic while you assist this man. Of course you don't drag this man to the sidewalk . . . you can perform CPR if need be on the street. And don't give me that "I don't know CPR" stuff. Its better to do SOMETHING than stand there and watch someone die. If you noticed, it is a two lane street. The parties involved made an illegal pass (solid line). All other vehicles began to slow down after the hit and run. "

Ummmm wrote on Jun 6, 2008 7:07 AM:

" How cold was that person who walked over to the victim and then just walked back, were they afraid they'd become diseased? Or, did they think he was dead and they figured they can't do anything? Yes, the could have, they could have given him some measure of comfort knowing someone was there watching out to make sure he wasn't run over again. Everyone and their mother has a cell phone today. 911 is just three little digits. I hope to God that if I ever see this happening, I'll have more compassion than those who walked past as though this person was nothing more than garbage in the streets. "

The Original JD wrote on Jun 5, 2008 10:38 PM:

" The government, media, and society have hit the panic button so much that many people are totally apathetic. If one would listen, people have been subjected daily to fear tactics that result in things like this feeling more as a daily occurrence than a rare situation. Not to mention that moral compass is a subjective term. For example, my moral compass will not allow me to join a cult which has historically destroyed cultures, killed to propagate itself, and is now attempting to wash its hand of all the blood while still enjoying the power it has. Of course, for others that cult is their morality. "

dobug wrote on Jun 5, 2008 10:31 PM:

" That's AWFUL! I don't think the article said if he was okay or not....? "

blogger wrote on Jun 5, 2008 10:05 PM:

" This is sick! I hope they find those bystanders and arrest them for failure to render aide. "

Jarhead71 wrote on Jun 5, 2008 8:02 PM:

" Lawyers are to blame with frivilous law suits. If a state does not have a very rigid good samaritan law on the books, stopping to render any assistance is legally very risky. Families in grief, prodded by lawyers seeking big bucks for settlement , are suing all to often. People in America are basically good, caring people, but lawyers are making it so that people cannot care, cannot assist. We simply have too much to lose. "

so what wrote on Jun 5, 2008 6:25 PM:

" to ml:

Well, apparently everyone in Hartford, CT that witnessed this incident!! That's who! "

Townie here... wrote on Jun 5, 2008 6:25 PM:

" To the goat...as a woman, I was always told to yell "Fire" if I was being physically attacked because no one answers to "Help". People are jerks, it's nothing new...also, what makes you think these are "young people" they could be as "old" as you are! I'm just saying... "

so what wrote on Jun 5, 2008 6:23 PM:

" Part of the problem is that too many people are getting sued by the very victims they have helped. It's too risky to help someone who is injured because if you do, they might sue you for potentially causing further injury to them by moving them.

This is a sue happy society. I'm surprised someone hasn't thought of sueing everyone who saw a particular incident, but did nothing to help. But just wait...it'll happen. "

ml wrote on Jun 5, 2008 6:07 PM:

" Good lord, jack452, I would have at a minimum called 911 and comforted the man until emergency responders arrived. What kind of animal wouldn't? "

dwarf wrote on Jun 5, 2008 5:48 PM:

" It's completely inexcusable. It's horrible that someone could witness something like this and do nothing.

What it is not, is a soapbox to lament the lack of prayer in school. "

110100100 wrote on Jun 5, 2008 5:43 PM:

" why does it keep stripping my name!? "

cocoa wrote on Jun 5, 2008 5:26 PM:

" At a bare minimum, someone could have called 911. I dare say I would not be surprised to see this happen here in B-N some day. "

jack452 wrote on Jun 5, 2008 5:18 PM:

" Think about it, what would you have done? What could you have done, drag him to the sidewalk and risk further injury to him and getting run over yourself? I'm surprised the cop even stopped. "

wrote on Jun 5, 2008 5:05 PM:

" People on the east coast would step over their own mothers.

That being said, apathy is not new nor is it isolated to our country. The behavior you see in this video is what psychologist call the 'bystander effect.' It is a "phenomenon in which someone is less likely to intervene in an emergency situation when other people are present and able to help than when he or she is alone... Solitary individuals will typically intervene if another person is in need of help: this is known as bystander intervention. However, researchers were surprised to find that help is less likely to be given if more people are present. In some situations, a large group of bystanders may fail to help a person who obviously needs help."

Psychology aside, I think most people around here would have done something. I think this sort of behavior is inexcusable. "

miskaffon wrote on Jun 5, 2008 5:05 PM:

" Put yourself in the shoes of the man who was hurt; you would certainly not CARE if someone had a deadline. You would want HELP. Shame on you if you have ever walked by someone in need and done NOTHING. You are as bad, if not worse, than the careless punk who ran him over. There is no excuse valid for any of the people who saw this poor man in the street; they are all LOSERS! "

cats55ire wrote on Jun 5, 2008 4:41 PM:

" This is so disgusting . . .
What has happened to human beings???? And you're right, Grandma--we're going to hell in a hand basket! How horrible!!!! "

RichieGB wrote on Jun 5, 2008 4:40 PM:

" They call this behavior "diffusion of responsibility"; it's an interesting and bizarre thing. "

Scapegoat wrote on Jun 5, 2008 4:15 PM:

" The lack of action is reprehensible, but unsurprising. From a general historical standpoint, we have ALWAYS been a callous, selfish world. It's not a new development.

We can only hope for a speedy, full recovery and some measure of justice for the people who drove away from the accident. "

dwarf wrote on Jun 5, 2008 4:14 PM:

" the_goat - This is nothing new and has nothing to do with religion.

Google for the Good Samaritan Experiment. Darley and Batson.

In short, they asked seminary students to prepare a sermon on the Good Samaritan, then put them under some time pressure. On their way, they passed a guy who was in obvious need of help.

The results might surprise you.

Also, google for Kitty Genovese, from a day when there was much more religious education than there is now. "

Grandma of Two wrote on Jun 5, 2008 3:32 PM:

" I knew we had become a callous world, but this takes the cake. We are going to hell in a hand basket and quick. "

michelle24 wrote on Jun 5, 2008 3:32 PM:

" Truly disgraceful. :( "

vzbb wrote on Jun 5, 2008 3:30 PM:

" That's not suprising!! Like I've said before nobody cares about anyone else in this world other than themselves which is why the country is the way it is and will never change. It's always about me, me oh yea and ME...

I hope this man is able to recover! "

the_goat wrote on Jun 5, 2008 3:26 PM:

" What moral compass to people have anymore? We removed God from schools, the 10 commandments from public places and parents haven't been parenting for years. Young people today have no concept of reprocussions for what they've done because mommy and daddy give them everything and shelter them. My guess is you see more of this. I wasn't suprised to see it.... On another note, you constantly hear of good summaritans getting sued for trying to help others, there are blood borne pathogens out there... maybe people just thinks it's to risky and that's the society we've made. We can only blame ourselves. "

Ads by Yahoo!

Online Degrees

Weekly New Car Bargains

See Today's Mortgage Rates