Yesterday, Edmund was hit by a car! He has only bruises and sprained articulations, thank God, but it could have been much worse. He was crossing the street in daytime, in a well-marked and busy pedestrian crossing at an intersection (going to Whole Foods). A van in the cross-street arrived at the intersection and the driver decided to turn briskly, without checking for pedestrians first. Edmund was hit — mostly the arm he flung in the way — and fell, but the van stopped short of running completely over him. He says he found himself under the vehicle up to his waist, staring at the front end… He scrambled like a crab to get out from under. And here is the loveliest part: the driver then took off! We assume he didn’t have any insurance. I just can’t imagine being the kind of person who would hit someone and take off without checking their injuries and offering assistance.
Edmund was too frazzled to read the license plate, thought of it a moment too late. Other people saw the incident but were too far to read the number as well; a group of firefighters on their lunch break at Whole Foods saw the whole thing and were nice enough to check on Edmund. He filed a police report, but had very little on the vehicle except that it was an older tan van. He has a sprained wrist, elbow and shoulder (fortunately, on the right side, his off-hand), and bruises all around, but seems to be otherwise OK.
Ironically, while this was going on, I was having my annual 8-hour health and safety training where we heard, among other things, about traffic risk on and around job sites, and had our first aid and CPR certification.
It’s hard not to get morbid about something like this; the thought that he could have been killed seems to just stick there in my mind and I have always had an overly developed imagination.
Edmund en est quitte pour une collection de contusions et entorses mais il a eu une belle peur hier quand il a été heurté par une voiture! Il traversait la rue en plein jour, à une intersection bien marquée, quand une camionette est arrivée de la rue transversale et le chauffeur a décidé de tourner sans vérifier. Edmund a été heurté et il est tombé au sol, se retrouvant à moitié sous le véhicule! Il est sorti de là aussi rapidement que possible… et le chauffeur a accéléré, disparaissant avant qu’Edmund ou l’un des témoins ne puisse noter son numéro de plaque d’immatriculation. Des pompiers qui s’étaient arrêtés pour dîner sont venus à l’aide d’Edmund, puis il est allé faire un rapport de police (mais sand grand espoir). Il a un poignet, un coude et une épaule foulés, tous du côté droit. Heureusement, il est gaucher.
Pendant ce temps-là, j’étais en train de prendre mon cours de premiers soins annuel!
The Reef 