Samaritan
May 25th, 2009Yesterday, I played a Samaritan.
Taking a wrong turn out of Ikea, I decided to turn right at the lights and thus turning back to the motorway. I’d just pulled up and the lights were red. The to my right I witnessed a woman’s body hurling through the air, quite literally like a ‘rag doll’.
She had been hit by a car. I froze for a moment, then put my hazards on, jumped out of the car and ran over the road to join the babble of people surrounding her. People were mulling around. I saw a cool guy on his phone, I asked if he was calling an ambulance, he nodded. I later found out this guy was the driver.
So I did what I could and knelt down next to the woman. Her brother was with her and in so much shock. She had suffered a laceration to the head upon landing and was trying to move. I asked her to stay still, got her name and her brother’s name. With her brother I tried to keep her conscious.
I can’t believe the amount of people trying to put her in the recovery position. I tried to keep my cool, as I advised them not to do this, as she was conscious and they could hurt her back. I told them I was a MH nursing assistant which seemed to instill some calm.
I don’t have that much medical knowledge. But I knew not to move a person hit by a car.
She was complaining of her head hurting on the road so I shouted for a jacket. Someone handed me a jacket, I balled it up under her head. She stopped trying to get up. I asked someone to direct traffic, as it was a busy junction, and someone else to hold her legs down.
She looked as if she was slipping at one point, so I asked her to squeeze my hand and her brothers, I also kept asking her what her name was.
By this time, Ikea first aiders came and tried to dress the wound on her head. I can’t think why, maybe they were using their training in a panic. Being around the corner from GMP HQ, 3 police vans came, and 2 bikes.
It was a good 10 minutes before the ambulance arrived. I had guided her brother away and was trying to comfort him and his son, who I asked to turn away. It was no scene for someone young to witness.
I told the paramedic what had happened, how her injuries were sustained and then gave a quick statement to the police. I had offered to drive the relatives to the hospital. They wanted a relative to come, so I drove them to nearby Oldham.
I did what I think anyone would have done in that situation. I think everyone should go on a first aid course though, as she could have really damaged her back through other people’s actions.
I don’t know if I did the right thing staying and helping like that, but I couldn’t drive on and there were so many people just milling around. I keep having flashes of the woman flying up. It was like the drive safe, kill your speed advert. Mortifying.

