Oh my God! I just saved a lady's life! And I'm even serious!
By The Horse
@TheHorse (218808)
Walnut Creek, California
June 14, 2020 8:30pm CST
I was just driving home from Safeway when I came to an intersection that has a quick stop light. The light was green for me, but I knew but could change at any second, so I acceleerated to near the speed limit, which I believe was 35 mph.
I was in the left lane, and in front of me and slightly to my left, I spied a youngish white or Latina woman crossing left to right against the light. As she was still "on the other side," I assumed she would stop near the cement median, which is about four feet wide.
Only when I was already IN the intersection did I realize she was texting AND had headphones on. In a fraction of a second, I turned as hard as I could into the right lane without losing control of my Nissan Xterra. As I passed her, she walked DIRECTLY into the spot I would have gone through had I not done the abrupt lane change.
Only as I passed her did she realize that I was even there. I watched her in the rear view mirror as she stopped, looked at me, looked to her right, and then looked ahead, realizing then (I assume) that she was crossing against the light.
Had I been someone with average reaction time, or someone texting, she would be dead now. I know this is a bit weird, but I sometimes watch airplane crash videos. I want to be aware of everything that can go wrong, so I can avoid the kinds of errors that lead to death.
I'll attach a video of an airplane crash that could have been avoided if the pilot of either plane, or the air traffic controller, had double- or triple-checked all parameters to ensure separation between the two planes. You don't need to watch it to get my point.
Have you ever saved someone else's life?
https://twitter.com/AirCrashMayday On Friday, December 16, 1960, United Airlines Flight 826, a Douglas DC-8-11, bound for Idlewild Airport (later renamed Joh...
20 people like this
20 responses
@wolfgirl569 (106226)
• Marion, Ohio
15 Jun 20
Similar. I pulled into a parking lot to see a guy doing the same thing you described. I had to wait on him. Many people would have been going to fast and hit him.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (106226)
• Marion, Ohio
15 Jun 20
@TheHorse Seen him almost walk onto a couple of parked cars. He was that into his phone
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218808)
• Walnut Creek, California
15 Jun 20
@wolfgirl569 I had an Asian kid walk right in front of me on the bike path while I was cycling. He may have been playing that Pokemon game. I screeched to a halt and looked at him with no expression. He kept right on going without saying "sorry."
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (68000)
• United States
15 Jun 20
Yeah, mine. I had a semi that decided he wanted the lane I was in and he knew my Honda Civic would give him no argument. Into the median I went.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (68000)
• United States
15 Jun 20
@TheHorse — thankfully, just hit grass. No damage except to my nerves. And he kept on going.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (218808)
• Walnut Creek, California
15 Jun 20
@FourWalls I am glad to hear that.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (180678)
• United States
15 Jun 20
Not sure about that, but I have saved people from almost certain injury.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (180678)
• United States
15 Jun 20
@TheHorse There was a cart full of kids about to roll of the curb and into the street. I grabbed it.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218808)
• Walnut Creek, California
15 Jun 20
@snowy22315 Where was their grown-up?
1 person likes this
@noni1959 (10095)
• United States
15 Jun 20
I see this so often when I go into Salem (Oregon) and go down a street called Lancaster. It's not a good street and I hate driving it but Petsmart is there. It never fails, someone crosses against the light and many times while texting. Good for you changing lanes. She should be grateful and it wake her up to stay off the phone when out.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218808)
• Walnut Creek, California
15 Jun 20
@holdoors Glad he survived. In my case, I was cycling when a guy had a heart attack and plowed into a construction site. I was the first on scene, turned off his engine (his rear ties were spinning, as his muscle contractions had caused him to "floor it," and a small fire had started in the brush near his right rear tire), and had someone call 911. I left the scene after the ambulance arrived.
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
• United States
15 Jun 20
I have had near misses with people that enter or run out in a crosswalk without looking. Had someone literally run out from behind a parked car and I nearly missed him. I am talking fractions of an inch. I hit the horn and he jumped a mile and ran faster. I was shouted WTF dude!!!
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160663)
• United States
15 Jun 20
Oh how scary. I hope she noticed how close she came to being hit. it is always good to drive defensively.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (222994)
• Chile
15 Jun 20
There are too many people texting and with headphones on. She was lucky that you saw her.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
15 Jun 20
Doing something as you did? Yes, my husband saved dozens of idiots lives, all those youngsters who walk looking at their phones instead to look at the road. I do not drive, but I often grab someone when I realize she/he is crossing while a car is arriving.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (178568)
• United States
15 Jun 20
It's lucky that you were paying attention even though she wasn't!
1 person likes this
@DocAndersen (54402)
• United States
15 Jun 20
that is scary, glad you reacted quickly and weren't forced into a worse situation. distracted walking/running/driving is epidemic.
1 person likes this
@Lavanya15 (12888)
• Chennai, India
15 Jun 20
That's great, I indeed lol. Have a nice day
1 person likes this
@chavezrmc (6095)
• Philippines
15 Jun 20
Yes, it happened two months ago. A relative have a mild stroke and he even didn't notice it. But the moment I've seen him from afar and when i got nearer I have seen and heard difference in his speech and movement. I told him that we need to go to to the nearest hospital and he was saved . Time is essential when this happened and we have to think that we all live once and we have to act fast.
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (41427)
• United States
15 Jun 20
My goodness. Did she realize what almost happened? Thank God you were able to act in time.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121582)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Jun 20
I used to be one of those idiots that would text and walk, and *God forbid* actually text and drive as well. But I soon realized how bad the problem was getting, and somewhere I had seen an article that said texting and driving was now more dangerous than drunk driving. That hit home for me, since I would never drink and drive. So I decided to put my phone down and concentrate on the road like I should have been doing all along. I also practice situational awareness and anticipate what could go wrong at any intersection I'm approaching. So glad to hear you were paying close enough attention to be able to take action to avoid hitting the pedestrian.
@sallypup (61088)
• Centralia, Washington
15 Jun 20
I hope that ditzy woman learned her lesson. I have wondered what would have happened from time to time, for instance, when a lady started to barrel through an intersection without noting that we would broadside if she did that. My laying on the horn woke her and from her expression, left her horrified. But she also braked her vehicle and minded her stopping before we impacted.
1 person likes this
@Butterfingers (66583)
• India
15 Jun 20
That's good you were aware of it and that woman was just casually passing the red light
1 person likes this
