it ain't the bullet, it's the hole

[topaz]

On Friday night I left work to meet keyne at Sei Bar in Medford.  I was on my way up Main St. at about 6:45pm when I noticed that there was a pickup truck in the middle of the intersection.  Then I noticed there was a mangled dirt bike lying in the street behind it.  There were also a lot of people shouting and yelling things at each other, and a man was kneeling in the middle of the street, cradling a boy around twelve years old in his arms.  The boy was conscious, and crying.

Someone yelled please, could someone call 911?  I did, and was told that Medford police had been advised.  Someone figured out that it would be a good idea to move the truck so people could get past it.  The driver ran to his truck to move it (someone screamed, "Don't let him get away!").

I stood around for a few more minutes, gawking, trying to figure out something else constructive I could do.  It occurred to me that it would be helpful for someone to direct traffic, but I wasn't sure of a safe way to do that with the injured party still in the middle of the street.  In a few minutes an ambulance arrived, with two cruisers and two fire engines (!) so I decided it was safe for me to leave.

After meeting keyne for dinner, I had to go back up the street to see what happened.  The police were still there.  Some officers were talking to people, and at least a couple appeared to be collecting evidence from the street.

I hate not knowing what to do.  It makes me feel a lot better about the kids' bike safety training that I took for MassBike last month.  But I would have given anything at that instant to have had first aid training.  And I have to say, being the parent of an active nine-year-old boy, that watching a scene like that unfold fills my gut with icy, sour terror.

I don't know what happened to the boy.  I called the Medford PD a few minutes ago.  The desk sergeant I talked to confirmed that he can't tell me anything about the victims of an accident.

I don't know what happened to the boy.

Comments

[vasilatos]

Ah. From experience, I can say that completely aside from first-aid training, what you want to do in an emergency is ID the victim, remain calm, and TAKE THEIR PULSE. It's not hard and it forces them - and you - to settle down.

Seems a little over-simple, but as a single thing to do, it's excellent.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Oh, what an excellent idea. Thanks for the suggestion.

I would need a watch, but at this point I kinda need one anyway.

[sconstant.livejournal.com]

I would worry that if I went in and didn't look like I knew what I was doing, I'd panic everyone, and that if I went in and did, someone who might otherwise be helpful would assume that I knew what I was doing. But this may just be a justification for not doing anything, and apathy doesn't need any more champions.

[vasilatos]

There's always yelling "911" and getting out of the way. Totally good.

Dispatch centers are having some overload issues with too many calls because people have cellphones, and I don't know what to make of that. We'll have to wait for what emergency responders recommend as they adapt.