I usually avoid saying what we should do and instead focus on what I should do. We usually cannot live other people’s lives, but we can live our own.
I was driving down the street recently and two cars swerved into each other. An accident occurred right before my eyes.
I was just far enough away from the ongoing collision that I was able to stop my car, but not come to a total stop and process the logic of turning into a nearby parking lot.
It took my brain about 5 to 10 seconds to survey the scene around me as I decided to turn into a nearby parking lot so as not to hold up the traffic in the street.
I decided to sit in that parking lot for about another 5 seconds as I looked at the cars around and I didn’t see anybody in the traffic lanes get out of their cars so I got out of my car because I saw airbags inflate in one of the cars and I started running towards cars.
I felt my phone leave my belt clip and hug the street face down on the ground. I stopped abruptly to pick it up and immediately resumed the sprint to the car.
I first went to the car on the right, and I saw a young lady in there and she was in shock and I calmed her down and I told her to get out of the car. I told her everything was going to be OK and to take a breath. I told her to step over to the sidewalk just in case something goes wrong with the car. I said it in such a way not to stir panic but to take precaution.
I can smell fumes coming from the car’s front end and I knew we both needed to stay away from those fumes.
My brain calculated that she was OK and I stepped away.
I went over to the other car to the driver side and I saw the mother on the phone talking and I told her everything was going to be OK but she was worried about her daughter so I went over to the other side of the car.
Airbags were inflated next to the window where her daughter was sitting in the left backseat. This was an SUV. Both cars were SUVs. Total damage in the front ends.
I opened the door because I felt the situation was urgent. I lifted up the deployed airbag and I looked the little girl in the face and I said everything is going to be OK but I need her to calm down and just take a breath.
I moderated my voice just so that she took the instruction and fortunately a few seconds later an off duty nurse came by.
She entered the other side and let the mother know she’s a practicing nurse.
I let the little girl know she is still alive and that is the most important thing.
The nurse started examining her and trying to assess if she had any physical or psychological damage. She was in shock for a good minute, but our attention to her was helping her to calm down and get stable psychologically. I could see the improvement registering in her eyes every few seconds.
I heard a police siren chirp to my left. I glanced out real quick and saw it was law enforcement. I let everyone in the car know that law enforcement was here and everything was going to be alright.
The officer went over to the side where the nurse was and we made eye contact and communicated at a non-verbal level in the span of 3 to 5 seconds that the situation is unsettling for everyone but not physically critical.
He started talking to the mother and I worked on the timing when I could convince the little girl to take my hand and step away from the vehicle because I was inhaling fumes this entire time, and I was more concerned about her exposure than mine.
I know how to clear toxins out of my body and toxins out of my lungs, but she was too young for sustained exposure to whatever fumes come out of engines following an accident.
Beyond that, what really drove me was the possibility of flames and so I just wanted to make sure everybody was clear before a situation like this developed. It usually doesn’t in car accidents but when it does, you do not want to be anywhere near it.
I just had to wait for her to calm before I could convince her to get clear of that situation.
She took my hand and got out of the vehicle then away from the car. Her mother was there a few seconds later along with law-enforcement who started getting her statement about the collision.
The entire situation looked stable to me at that point. Law enforcement was well involved and I started back to my vehicle.
I saw the little girl standing on the sidewalk near her mother. I leaned down slightly and said everything is going to be OK. I told her she is still alive. I then asked her a question. I asked her if she was still alive. She nodded her head yes. I noticed she seemed much better mentally, then I left.
Gautier Talks About Life 