Driving By The Helpless

And Injured

To the Editor:

This past Saturday evening, my family and I came upon a most distressing situation. At 10 pm, we were driving home from a friend’s house. On Butterfield Road, four cars passed us in the opposite direction, one right after another. After the last car passed, we realized that there was a person laying in the road. We pulled over immediately and called 911. This person was a young lady. She didn’t remember how she ended up in the middle of the road, but it was clear that she was injured.

We simply cannot comprehend how four cars could drive right past her laying in the middle of the road. This beautiful young lady is someone’s daughter and sister. Have people become so disengaged and disaffected that they could leave a helpless victim in the middle of the road waiting to be struck by a car, perhaps for the second time? We are grateful that we happened to be there at the right time and that she seemed stable when the ambulance took her away. We would like to thank the good Samaritan in the jeep, who stayed with us and helped block the road while my husband sat in the middle of the road with her awaiting help.

This could have been anyone’s daughter or son or spouse. I hope that the people who passed right by her and didn’t help will take some time to think about how their inaction could have caused an enormous tragedy. There are many wonderful people in Newtown who would have stopped and helped a stranger. Sadly, the four cars that drove right by her didn’t. We pray that she is recovering well from her injuries.

Jodi and Scott Bialik

Briarwood Lane, Newtown                                               July 23, 2008