So Many Heavy Hearts
I'm not even sure what I'm feeling right now. Coming home, I turn the corner onto my street, and see all kinds of sirens and emergency vehicles at the next corner. Looks like something serious has happened.
So admittedly out of curiosity I grab my dog and my phone and walk up the street to check things out. I see two kids on their bikes frantically biking up and down the street as I hear a cop car barreling down in the opposite direction. He blocks the intersection and no more cars can pass. I decide to ask the kids what happened.
"Yeah a car went spinning in the air and there's kids hurt. One of them's stuck under the car, they're trying to get 'em out." I asked them if they needed to call anyone but they were going back to kid 1's place to call their parents. Couldn't have been older than 10, saw the whole thing happen.
After dealing with the death of that little boy in December, I figured I should go now and see if I can help out. There's a park across the street from where it happened. It's 4 pm. Kids are everywhere. I approach and see the wreckage. One SUV, presumingly the one that flipped, windows smashed and backwards on the sidewalk. Bricks look like they're hoisting it up. And then I see them.
Legs.
They started taping up the area with yellow sheets, I knew it wasn't good. A child's booster seat, sandals and other debris littered the cement. I noticed two young girls alone, crying, off to the side. So I offered to call someone for them. They too witnessed the whole thing and were waiting to be questioned by police. I tried to ignore the horrifying images that came to mind and focused to help these girls, who were clearly traumatized.
They called someone to come meet them, tears gushed once they had to report what happened to the person on the other end of the phone. It hits so much harder when you have to tell someone.
I'm still kind of shocked.
People were all over the place, stunned, hands over mouths, crying. When the police expanded the perimeter and we were pushed back, I decided to head back and drop Gracie off. As I was stepping closer to home, I noticed my neighbor just arriving. "Hey Kid" I hear, "Hey Kiddie, you got a smoke?" Someone, looking clearly affected, asks me again. I tell him no, then notice the 12 pack of beer he's got. He just wants a smoke and is asking everyone. He's sitting on my steps. A teen, the one that lives in our building, is with him, trying to find keys to get him inside. Smoker is getting aggressive, I still don't know why until my neighbor asks. "I don't want to talk to you right now Ruth, that's my cousin" Teen says.
It clicks and makes sense. He's got the kid's blood on him. I guess he tried to help and now is overcome with shock. I find the guy a smoke and meet up with another neighbor to speak to police about this traumatized, possibly violent man. Along the way, Smoker picks a fight with some teens that I foolishly try to break up but get a clue, you don't always know where someone's coming from! No punches were thrown, they leave and we go back.
Maybe it's weird to want to be close to a scene like that but a big part was coming from a willingness to help. I work with kids. I deal with death. I've dealt with several crisis situations in the past. I just wanted to be there to see if anyone could use a hand. Taking it all in, speaking with other neighbors, it's just so tragic.
Someone probably had to get somewhere, somewhere probably not that important when you consider the consequences of speeding. Now a family, a friend, an onlooker, a driver will never be the same. Was it worth it? Of course not. My heart goes out to them. And to that little one, who's been gone from this Earth for not even a few hours, it's not right, it's not okay. I wish it weren't true.
Accidents happen but they can be prevented if we live a little longer in the present moment.
So many heavy hearts,
Katie
So admittedly out of curiosity I grab my dog and my phone and walk up the street to check things out. I see two kids on their bikes frantically biking up and down the street as I hear a cop car barreling down in the opposite direction. He blocks the intersection and no more cars can pass. I decide to ask the kids what happened.
"Yeah a car went spinning in the air and there's kids hurt. One of them's stuck under the car, they're trying to get 'em out." I asked them if they needed to call anyone but they were going back to kid 1's place to call their parents. Couldn't have been older than 10, saw the whole thing happen.
After dealing with the death of that little boy in December, I figured I should go now and see if I can help out. There's a park across the street from where it happened. It's 4 pm. Kids are everywhere. I approach and see the wreckage. One SUV, presumingly the one that flipped, windows smashed and backwards on the sidewalk. Bricks look like they're hoisting it up. And then I see them.
Legs.
They started taping up the area with yellow sheets, I knew it wasn't good. A child's booster seat, sandals and other debris littered the cement. I noticed two young girls alone, crying, off to the side. So I offered to call someone for them. They too witnessed the whole thing and were waiting to be questioned by police. I tried to ignore the horrifying images that came to mind and focused to help these girls, who were clearly traumatized.
They called someone to come meet them, tears gushed once they had to report what happened to the person on the other end of the phone. It hits so much harder when you have to tell someone.
I'm still kind of shocked.
People were all over the place, stunned, hands over mouths, crying. When the police expanded the perimeter and we were pushed back, I decided to head back and drop Gracie off. As I was stepping closer to home, I noticed my neighbor just arriving. "Hey Kid" I hear, "Hey Kiddie, you got a smoke?" Someone, looking clearly affected, asks me again. I tell him no, then notice the 12 pack of beer he's got. He just wants a smoke and is asking everyone. He's sitting on my steps. A teen, the one that lives in our building, is with him, trying to find keys to get him inside. Smoker is getting aggressive, I still don't know why until my neighbor asks. "I don't want to talk to you right now Ruth, that's my cousin" Teen says.
It clicks and makes sense. He's got the kid's blood on him. I guess he tried to help and now is overcome with shock. I find the guy a smoke and meet up with another neighbor to speak to police about this traumatized, possibly violent man. Along the way, Smoker picks a fight with some teens that I foolishly try to break up but get a clue, you don't always know where someone's coming from! No punches were thrown, they leave and we go back.
Maybe it's weird to want to be close to a scene like that but a big part was coming from a willingness to help. I work with kids. I deal with death. I've dealt with several crisis situations in the past. I just wanted to be there to see if anyone could use a hand. Taking it all in, speaking with other neighbors, it's just so tragic.
Someone probably had to get somewhere, somewhere probably not that important when you consider the consequences of speeding. Now a family, a friend, an onlooker, a driver will never be the same. Was it worth it? Of course not. My heart goes out to them. And to that little one, who's been gone from this Earth for not even a few hours, it's not right, it's not okay. I wish it weren't true.
Accidents happen but they can be prevented if we live a little longer in the present moment.
So many heavy hearts,
Katie
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