Call initiated at 17:53, was off the phone by 17:55 (why don't mobile providers route the call to the right state??), ambulance arrived a little after 18:05.
I found out later that one of the witnesses happened to be an ER professional on her way home - all I noticed at first was that someone who seemed to know what she was doing had taken charge of first aid. The 33yo victim seemed in a pretty good state considering - conscious the whole time. Lent the headlamp of my bicycle to someone who wanted to check his eye response, but mostly I just kept an eye out for the ambulance.
Police arrived by 18:20, then I gave my eyewitness report such as it was (I knew I had a green as I headed south, and was planning on waiting for the red for heading west to vanish before I crossed, but I wasn't looking at the lights at the time of the incident), the ambulance left with the cyclist, and I very gingerly headed home. Didn't really feel up to carrying on to my Pilates class, besides which it was half over by the time I got away.
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Comments
I'm just glad it wasn't you.
As before, thoughts for yourself and the cyclist. Having been at a pedestrian and vehicle accident myself it can leave you feeling pretty shaken up and very aware on your vunerability.
*Hug*
*hug*
I'm feeling a lot less shakey now than I did just after giving the police report. *gibbers less*
(oh, and loving your new username :)
Thanks- I needed a change, every time I read it I sing Prince! hehe
(why don't mobile providers route the call to the right state??)
You got routed over east? o_O That's not supposed to happen...
Not so much 'over east' as their first question was "which state and town are you in?" before putting me through to a second operator.. FWIW I'm with Optus, and I did dial 112 rather than try to remember which of 000 or 999 was appropriate in Australia..
*hugs*
I'm just glad there was someone there with considerably more first aid training than me. It's been a few years since I last updated my certificate (should do something about that), and even back then I would have preferred someone else take the responsibility.
1. I had a nasty experience about 5 years ago, of driving on the (UK) motorway, in traffic slowing and parting around a few stationary cars in the middle lane, to see a not-moving young girl sprawled limply on the tarmac, who had jumped/fallen from the overhead gantry a few minutes earlier. News reports say she didn't make it.
2. I've heard the bang of crumpling metal while waiting at a bus stop at a busy city centre junction, and turned to see two spinning cars, one of which had ingored a red light at speed, and caught another coming from its left/right. What I fought more than the potential horror of the incident were the nearly-infectious reactions of the 30-odd people at the bus stop with me - in short, they were flapping or gawping and praying. I saw several people on their mobile phones immediately, so without any first aid training, and without directly witnessing the cause of the incident, I thought it best to be quiet and stay out of it.
3. I've been touch-tailgated by a drunk on the motorway late at night, so slowed and moved to avoid bumps, and then a minute later watched it go ahead and collide with another car, with both of them ping-ponging between armco barriers. Thankfully I was going slowly enough to avoid them.
I'm sure everyone gets to see a few of these in their lifetime, especially city folk. For me, the incidents stay at the forefront of my mind for a day or so, and then gradually fade away.
Your first tale reminded me of an incident from when we were living in Newcastle upon Tyne. We were just heading back to the car after an evening out, when we noticed a crumpled form surrounded by a couple of police officers and another bystander in the middle of the only exit from the carpark. Turned out to be someone who'd jumped/fallen from one of the bridges over the river.
I felt kind of odd about approaching the scene (I was met half way) to ask the reasonably pragmatic question of whether we should catch a taxi home or come back in an hour or so. It was kind of spooky walking under that bridge for several months afterwards.
Wish Perth was more friendly to cyclists - like some cities [http://www.copenhagenize.com/] but sadly this is a car culture :/
I wish there was a really fast world wide rethink towards public transport, bicycle lanes and seriously reducing cars.
While bicycle lanes wouldn't have helped in this instance (either the cyclist or the driver ran a red light), we really could do with them along the stretch of Thomas St between Wellington St and the intersection in question.