Street Justice

About 3 years ago in Boston I watched 2 women get struck in a hit and run accident in Government Center. I was on the sidewalk and one of the women landed at my feet. I can still visualize that experience and it is not a pleasant thought. Yesterday I was reminded again how all to quickly life can change forever.

I had the unfortunate experience of witnessing 2 pedestrians get struck by a car doing about 35 mph. For some reason it veered out of it's lane and struck people standing just off the sidewalk in the street, well within the boundaries of a parked car. Then as it went up over a sidewalk it hit 1 more. Since I was just across the street, I ran over to see if they were okay. Around here you just can't call 911 and have an ambulance and police show up. The woman who was most struck was awake but holding her head, moaning, crying, and very scared. She was hit hard enough to crack the windshield. No major visible injuries. A mob showed up as soon as I got to the other side of the street, in under a minute. The driver knew he was in serious trouble and acted quickly. He and his passengers scooped up the various injured parties off the ground and threw them into the truck. No neck braces or backboards, just grabbing arms and legs in a hurried carry. At this time the mob grew and became quite unruly so I got the heck out of there. I watched from the safety of the other side of the street as the driver was fending off attackers and was lucky to make it out of there without being seriously injured by the mob. He and his passengers all got into the truck with the injured and sped off to the hospital. At least he did that much.

I had heard about street justice here, and I was told that if I ever got in a car accident that it is understood that both parties drive to the police station to prevent a mob forming and dishing out justice to their own accord. Now I understand why.