Accidental bystander
May. 5th, 2006 12:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vettecatWhile working in the store this afternoon, we heard a crash! from outside. We were both entangled in projects, and it wasn't a very loud crash, so neither of us went to investigate. Shortly thereafter, however, a police car pulled up in front of the store... followed by an ambulance... followed by a fire engine, all with sirens running. (I believe one of each is the prescribed response to a 911 call.) We looked out the window again to see a crowd gathering on the sidewalk. That made me curious enough to put aside my project (assembling things with bits of foam) to step outside and see what was happening.
As I watched the swirling chaos, a pattern emerged. There was a car stopped in front of our store, in the right-hand driving lane, with its passenger mirror broken off. A policeman was talking to the driver. The ambulance was parked next to that car, making it a narrow squeeze for traffic going by in the left lane. (I believe the police car was in front of that car, and the fire engine was behind it.) There was a Vespa parked directly in front of our store, between two parked cars; another policeman was examining it. On the sidewalk in front of the store to our left, a group of EMTs were attending to a man in a biking helmet, strapping him onto a board. (Fortunately he was sitting up when I first saw him, talking to the EMTs, so he didn't seem to be seriously injured.) And another policeman was talking with a man next to a parked car in front of the EMT group, who seemed rather excited and was gesturing a lot.
I asked the nearest people on the sidewalk if anyone knew what happened but nobody was sure. The best I was able to gather, from listening to chatter and watching what was going on, was that the Vespa rider had been hit by the car. I surmised that the guy by the parked car was a witness, but realized there was no advantage to my being out there, and went back to my project. Within a short while the crowd had dissipated and no evidence remained... except the Vespa, which was still parked in front of our store.
A couple hours later, we noticed a man trying to start the Vespa. At first, we thought it was the original rider - which would have been impressive - but I didn't think it looked like the same guy. We hypothesized that this was a friend come to take the cycle home. He didn't seem to be having much success, though. Shortly he was joined by a woman, and they both continued poking and prodding the cycle. After a few minutes of this, I decided to go outside and see if I might be able to help somehow.
The man and the woman had indeed come to get the cycle, but they turned out to be from the hospital. I thought it was impressive that this was part of the service! The rider had given them his keys and told them where he lived, and they had come to bring the cycle home for him. But they couldn't get it to start. I told them I unfortunately don't know much about Vespas... but then realized my mother has a friend who owns one. (Those of you who go to KTM might know who I mean.) So I offered to call her and ask for advice, and they gratefully accepted.
So I went back inside, dialed her number on the portable phone, and gave her a brief outline of the situation. (Fortunately, she was home.) She was happy to help, and I passed the phone to the man from the hospital so she could tell him what to try. But nothing she suggested seemed to work. (I learned later that he has been riding motorcycles for years, and was very frustrated by not being able to start this supposedly simple machine.)
While the man continued to poke at the cycle, I told the woman that I had seen the rider taken away but didn't actually know what had happened. So she filled me in. It seems that he had been riding his Vespa between the right-hand lane of traffic (stopped at the traffic light) and the parked cars, and someone in a parked car opened his door without looking. (This would be the guy I thought was a witness. She told me that the guy had a car full of children, and was probably distracted.) So the rider smacked into the door, was knocked off his cycle, and fell into the car next to it - which would be how its mirror got broken off. I asked how he was, and she said he seemed OK but they were running a series of x-rays to be sure. So in the meantime they had come to get his bike...
In the process of trying to get the cycle to cooperate, they noticed a dent where it had struck the door. Shortly we noticed another, and another... and they came to the conclusion that something must have come disconnected in the impact, and they'd have to go get a van from the hospital in order to move it. This seemed to frustrate them, understandably, but since there was nothing more I could do at this point I wished them well and excused myself to go back into the store. They continued to poke at it for a while longer, but eventually had to give up.
I don't imagine I'll ever find out who the rider was, but I'm hoping he wasn't too badly hurt. The woman from the hospital indicated that he was probably OK, but I'm sure that at a minimum he'll be sore for a while - and it seems he's going to need to get his Vespa fixed...
As I watched the swirling chaos, a pattern emerged. There was a car stopped in front of our store, in the right-hand driving lane, with its passenger mirror broken off. A policeman was talking to the driver. The ambulance was parked next to that car, making it a narrow squeeze for traffic going by in the left lane. (I believe the police car was in front of that car, and the fire engine was behind it.) There was a Vespa parked directly in front of our store, between two parked cars; another policeman was examining it. On the sidewalk in front of the store to our left, a group of EMTs were attending to a man in a biking helmet, strapping him onto a board. (Fortunately he was sitting up when I first saw him, talking to the EMTs, so he didn't seem to be seriously injured.) And another policeman was talking with a man next to a parked car in front of the EMT group, who seemed rather excited and was gesturing a lot.
I asked the nearest people on the sidewalk if anyone knew what happened but nobody was sure. The best I was able to gather, from listening to chatter and watching what was going on, was that the Vespa rider had been hit by the car. I surmised that the guy by the parked car was a witness, but realized there was no advantage to my being out there, and went back to my project. Within a short while the crowd had dissipated and no evidence remained... except the Vespa, which was still parked in front of our store.
A couple hours later, we noticed a man trying to start the Vespa. At first, we thought it was the original rider - which would have been impressive - but I didn't think it looked like the same guy. We hypothesized that this was a friend come to take the cycle home. He didn't seem to be having much success, though. Shortly he was joined by a woman, and they both continued poking and prodding the cycle. After a few minutes of this, I decided to go outside and see if I might be able to help somehow.
The man and the woman had indeed come to get the cycle, but they turned out to be from the hospital. I thought it was impressive that this was part of the service! The rider had given them his keys and told them where he lived, and they had come to bring the cycle home for him. But they couldn't get it to start. I told them I unfortunately don't know much about Vespas... but then realized my mother has a friend who owns one. (Those of you who go to KTM might know who I mean.) So I offered to call her and ask for advice, and they gratefully accepted.
So I went back inside, dialed her number on the portable phone, and gave her a brief outline of the situation. (Fortunately, she was home.) She was happy to help, and I passed the phone to the man from the hospital so she could tell him what to try. But nothing she suggested seemed to work. (I learned later that he has been riding motorcycles for years, and was very frustrated by not being able to start this supposedly simple machine.)
While the man continued to poke at the cycle, I told the woman that I had seen the rider taken away but didn't actually know what had happened. So she filled me in. It seems that he had been riding his Vespa between the right-hand lane of traffic (stopped at the traffic light) and the parked cars, and someone in a parked car opened his door without looking. (This would be the guy I thought was a witness. She told me that the guy had a car full of children, and was probably distracted.) So the rider smacked into the door, was knocked off his cycle, and fell into the car next to it - which would be how its mirror got broken off. I asked how he was, and she said he seemed OK but they were running a series of x-rays to be sure. So in the meantime they had come to get his bike...
In the process of trying to get the cycle to cooperate, they noticed a dent where it had struck the door. Shortly we noticed another, and another... and they came to the conclusion that something must have come disconnected in the impact, and they'd have to go get a van from the hospital in order to move it. This seemed to frustrate them, understandably, but since there was nothing more I could do at this point I wished them well and excused myself to go back into the store. They continued to poke at it for a while longer, but eventually had to give up.
I don't imagine I'll ever find out who the rider was, but I'm hoping he wasn't too badly hurt. The woman from the hospital indicated that he was probably OK, but I'm sure that at a minimum he'll be sore for a while - and it seems he's going to need to get his Vespa fixed...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Bike vs Door
Date: 2006-05-05 10:16 am (UTC)Re: Bike vs Door
Date: 2006-05-07 03:54 am (UTC)