Stranger on the Road

So there I was, sitting at my desk in a quandary over what to write about today, when all of a sudden my cousin calls. (She WAS my cousin the b**** from an old post, but since Mr. South Side seems to be gone forever, I guess she’s forgiven.) Apparently she was minding her own business driving down Pulaski on the south side (which is where she lives) and noticed that there was a car stopped in the middle of the street, apparently for no reason. She told me that all the other drivers were laying on their horns and giving this car the finger, obviously pretty ticked off that he was blocking traffic.

My cousin, being the bleeding heart that she is, decided to investigate, because she said she could see a person in the driver’s seat, and she thought maybe he was in trouble or something. Apparently there aren’t many parking spots on Pulaski, because she had to drive down about a block and a half before she was able to pull over and park her car. She said she left her purse in the car (under the seat, I’m sure) and jogged off to the problem vehicle. Getting to the car proved to be no easy task, either, because now drivers were screaming obscenities to the car in the street AND to her, as she tried to weave through traffic on foot. When she did finally reach the car, she was horrified to find an elderly man sitting in the driver’s seat with his head back on the headrest. And his eyes rolled back in his head.

Well, obviously this isn’t the type of situation you come across every day, but she kept her cool. Sort of. She managed to call 911, and decided to try to see if she could get into the car, since she knows CPR she thought that MAYBE if he was just unconscious she could help this guy (even though she knew deep down he was NOT just unconscious). She tried the driver’s side door, which was locked. So she crossed in front of the car (did I mention it was raining??) and tried the passenger door, which was also locked. But as she peered into the passenger window to get a better look, she realized that not only was the car still running, but it was still in DRIVE and the guy’s foot was on the brake. This kind of freaked her out, mainly because two seconds ago she was in front of the car, and if his foot happened to slip off, she would’ve been killed by a dead guy (which made me laugh, even though it really wasn’t funny… but still, think about it a minute…). Anyway, there she was, still waiting for the cops or an ambulance or SOMETHING, IN THE RAIN, with every single stupid car that drove by honking and swearing and giving the finger… when all of a sudden, a tow truck pulled up.

The driver asked her if she needed any help, and she told him that she thought the guy in the car was dead, but she couldn’t get into the car, and if he WAS still alive, they needed to help him. That an ambulance was on the way, but did he have a slim jim or something? Well, apparently the tow truck driver had no desire to get involved in THIS freak show, because he told her he was sorry, no slim jim. She asked if he had anything to break the window with, then, since she had left her purse in the car and couldn’t break it with her fist. He mumbled something about “liability issues” and begged off that, too. Then he apologized and left.

Leaving my poor cousin once again alone in the rain with a dead guy who still had his foot on the brake in a running car and a bunch of pissed off drivers whizzing by. FINALLY the police and an ambulance showed up, and she explained to them what was going on. She had noticed that there was a dent in the rear fender, and voiced her thought that maybe someone had rear ended this guy, and when that happened, he just had a heart attack or something and died. But the cops didn’t seem too interested in her theory, or her name or personal information either, for that matter. (Which was really strange, since I had to give all my info when I found that girl OD’ing, and THIS guy was actually DEAD.) What they DID do was shatter the rear window so they could crawl through and shift the car to park without moving the body or causing the guy’s foot to come off the brake. She said they then actually pulled his body back out through the rear window and literally plopped his body on the street. In the rain.

The paramedics tried to revive him with their paddles, but it was pretty obvious the guy was long gone. And the cops began directing traffic and the paramedics loaded the body, and they sent my cousin on her merry way. Without even asking her name.

She told me that when she got home, she called the local hospital and spoke to someone in the ministry department, telling them what had happened. She told them she wanted to leave her name just in case the family wanted to know, so she could tell them he wasn’t alone, and someone DID try to help him. They took her information, thanked her, and hung up.

She never even found out HIS name, although his license plates said “TONY C.”

Well, Tony C., I hope all those people who blew by you and swore and flipped you off and honked instead of showing some concern have a really great day. Sometimes people really piss me off. Always looking out for number one, and never taking just a MINUTE out of their busy day to worry about anyone else. Maybe someone could’ve saved his life had they stopped instead of just getting angry, or maybe not. The thing that sucks is that no one will ever know for sure. Rest in peace, Tony.