There Are Still Good Samaritans Around

I recently left work at about 5:30 p.m. going about the usual Monday routine, or so I thought. I had just passed the Bake Parkway exit and proceeded to enter the Santa Ana freeway when I heard a very loud screeching of brakes and then a loud bang of cars smashing. My first thought was, “I’m glad I’m not in whatever lane that was.” A split second later, a truck (which I later found out was a Ford Expedition) rammed into my little Nissan Altima full force. The impact was so tremendous, it pushed my car nearly to its side--passenger’s side up in the air.

I sat that way in my car for what seemed like an eternity, unsure of exactly what my injuries were. I could see ahead of me in the distance a gentleman standing by the car that hit me. I assumed he was the driver. He just stood there looking in my direction. I thought for sure someone, anyone, would come and check to see how I was.

No sooner did I think this, when a man appeared in front of me. I later heard him say he was an off-duty emergency room person and was just passing by. He tried to calm me and proceeded to ask me questions, most likely to see if I had sustained head injuries. I mentioned to him that I needed to notify my husband so that he could pick up my daughter from dance class. Next thing I knew, he asked me for my phone number and proceeded to call my husband. I don’t remember what I said but recall being hysterical. When the ambulance came, I was frightened because I could not feel my entire left side. They finally got me out of the car and placed me in the ambulance. It was then that I began to worry about the more trivial things--my belongings--purse, glasses, keys, etc. My good Samaritan must have heard me because when I arrived at the hospital later, I found everything neatly tucked away in my handbag.

That was the last I saw of my good Samaritan. I think if he were to walk up in front of my face today, I wouldn’t be able to recognize him, considering the condition I was in. This man reaffirmed my belief that there are still good, unselfish people out in the world today.