On Saturday night, I stayed up a little later to get my prayers done. Of course, I procrasinated around the obvious sitting on my sofa wishing it was already over with.I switched on the television and came across 'Christine' - a stephen king horror flick about a possessed car on a killing rampage. As a rule, I run the other direction when it comes to scary movies. But once in a while, I get glued and give myself a sick thrill watching them scare me.
I was only 5 minutes into this weird, old movie about a car chasing the protagonist, when I heard a really loud and ugly crunch of metal from outside (we have our windows open for fresh air these days).
I live right across the park, and weekend nights are lively on our street. Not, yuppie neighbourhood with bars type loud, but a little more louder than weekday nights, with cars coming and going, and people talking extra loud on their way home. That type of loud.
When I heard the crunch, I was annoyyed at the noise. I thought something like 'stupid drunk people'. Then my mind suddenly thought, you know that was really loud. I don't think it was a screech, it was like something hit something else.
I look out. I live right across the park in my neighbourhood, and I see a black car crashed in our park. In reverse. And its taken a part of the iron fence with it.
I pick up my phone. Then put it down. Then I pick it up again. The thing is the driver's seat area is pretty intact. I debate to call 911. I even go downstairs and peek through the hall window and our entrance door. I'm kind of scared to step out and check on the driver because its like around midnight. Finally, I call 911. I tell the people what has happened and that I don't know if anyone got hurt. They're sending over a police car.
By this time, some people started running towards the accident. I'm relieved. I wait 5 more minutes and the police shows up. They start going towards the wrong direction of the intersection I give them (away from the park) - I roll my eyes. People around the accident start waving, jumping up and down - and finally the police car turns around. I have to smile. I did tell the 911 people the car had reversed into our park. :)
2 comments:
Your story reminds me of an incident of my own. I once saw a guy passed out on a sort of a deserted street close to where I worked.
Obviously, as a responsible non-citizen, I called 911. Since I was at work I couldn't wait around for the cops to arrive on the scene. So I told some guy to stay with him till the cops get there. Like me, he had stopped to check on the man lying on the pavement,
We actually didn't know if he was drunk or not. We just assumed he was. We could even tell if he was breathing. And there was no way I was touching a white middle aged bum to check his vitals. I just figured if he's not breathing then he's probably already dead. No point in getting all worked up about it now. [Callous? Sadly, I know.]
Anyways, I leave the two and head back inside the building. And hardly five minutes later I hear a fire engine approach. I figured they must be here for him. So I walked outside to see.
When I get to the scene, I see a fire engine, an ambulance and a couple of firemen standing around the scene. But get this, there was NO BODY ELSE there.
The man I had left to watch over and the man who was, what I assumed to be passed out, had disappeared. They were nowhere to be seen. It was like nobody was ever there.
One of the firemen walks up to me and questions if I was the one who called 911. And I was like, "yeah I'm the guy who called 911. But officer," I say (I don't know why i called him officer. I guess Mr.Fireman would have sounded strange.) I said, "but officer I swear to GOD there was a man lying unconscious on the ground right here a few minutes ago. I even left somebody to watch over him. I have no clue where they went."
I was so embarrassed by the whole situation that I couldn't even look the guy in the face. I was also afraid they might think I made a prank 911 call. If that were to happen I would've been in a lot of trouble.
But thankfully, they reasoned he might have walked away and the man who was watching over him might have left after him.
I never called 911 after that incident. Always made somebody else call them. Didn't want to take any chances.
@Abdu - barri waddi kahani likh kay chal paray....so, a case of the dissappearing wino....
I would be embarressed too. If my dead or injured stranger also disappeared on me. I don't blame you for being 911 paranoid now.
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