Last night at 830 pm while driving home on a 20 mile long remote road deep in woods, I saw a car that'd to veer hard to miss something & put the car in a deep snow bank. I was too terrified to stop to look to see if someone was hurt, I did slow down and rolled down my window to look and listen, but I was terrified so instead of stopping and getting out, I drove on for 10 miles to get cell coverage to call 911. What would you've done? No cell coverage, alone, dark, and in the middle of dense woods.

I think you did the right thing, could you physically help anyone?

We would all love to stop and help, but really it is just too dangerous for us to stop. You did the right thing.

If you had no cell coverage you did the right thing in my book. It would have been very hard for you by yourself to get to the car and try to help. If someone really needed medical help you would have delayed help. It was a tough descision but I think you made the right one.

I might have stopped. I came on an accident that had already happened where a pickup had flipped (before everyone carried cell phones). I stopped and could see a man inside, but he wasn't responding to my voice. While I was trying to figure out how to pull him through the window, another couple stopped and between the 3 of us we got him out. We sort of drug him back up the embankment and his truck caught on fire. They stayed with him and I went on home and called 911. When I went back to let them know, the police and an ambulance had already gotten there. He got a broken leg and probably a DUI out of it. I wasn't in the middle of the woods, though, and I don't think I'd ever have gotten him out alone. I agree with the others, you did the right thing by getting help to them sooner.

I could have if it was daylight. A friend just wrote me and said I probably feel quilty for not stopping because that could have been me in that vehicle and another car drove on and I was hurt or shaken up.
Yet, I chose to slow down, and drive off for 10 miles to call for help. Leaving someone maybe hurt or dying. I abandoned them in the deep woods at night.
That's why i wrote this, because I feel quilty for abandoning that vehicle.

It is hard to know what to do -

I would have been afraid to stop - and you did call for help.

Have you heard what happened next?

I would stop, but I understand why others would not. Some areas of the country just have so much crime you have to worry about such things.

Even if you would've stopped, you would have had to eventually drive on to get cell phone coverage if the driver was hurt.

When I had my accident, I was ran off the road by another person. Lots of people stopped to help, but it was 3:30 p.m., well traveled, and 2 miles from town. This makes a lot of difference. Everywhere I drive has cell coverage and that makes a big difference also. You should not feel guilty in the circumstances you were faced with.

Believe me, you did the right thing - you may have put yourself in danger at that time of night. Your family comes first and if you were harmed your family would suffer. You effort to call 911 necessitated you to leave the scene so yes, once again you did the right thing.

It is better to feel guilt, than to feel foolish if something bad happened to you. We can't take risks like this anymore, it is a crazy world. You did call for help, you did not abandon the car. If I had been in the car, I would be glad that you called for help that I needed, medical, emergency, etc. You could not have done much. You did good.

You did the right thing!! By driving you were able to get cell service and get help quicker

You did the right thing.

Everyone is different and every situation requires different reactions. I was a volunteer FF so I would have stopped to assess the situation as best I could and gone on from there.
You did what was right for YOU and you should not feel guilty about that.
Hugs
April

Thank you for answering! When I went back and waited, a state trooper stopped and he told the woman was safe and she was picked up by a passerby to take her to call for a tow truck.

You did the right thing.

I had a similar situation. I didn't stop because I saw a man in that situation (car crashed into bushes/side of road). He didn't look too injured so I went on into town & notified the local sheriff. They went to check on the situation.

**I didn't stop because it was dark & I was traveling alone.

You absolutely did the right thing. The best you could do was call for assistance. You needed to drive to do that. Just think, if it were your daughter in that situation, what would you have told her to do?? Stop or Drive to get help?

You have no reason to feel guilty! If you had stopped and couldn't do anything then help would have been delayed. I think that what you did was reasonable. You didn't abandon the person, you were going for help!

Aw, dont feel guilty. You DID call for help, so it wasnt like you didnt help out.

Calling for help was the safest thing you could have done. If you had stopped, what could you have done to help. If the person was seriously injured they needed an ambulance. There are too many bad people in the world to put yourself in danger after dark.

mltquilt

I would have done the same thing as you - driven on to get cell coverage, called for help and gone back to wait for the help to arrive in the safety of my car.

Think about what advice you would have given your daughter or a friend in the same situation - and then don't feel guilty for doing the same thing.

I was not a FF but First Responder and you did the correct moves (do not feel quilty. Hugs to you for what you did to help out

You did the right thing, you had to make the call on the phone 4 help, the only way to do that was to get service. I would have done the same thing.

oh DEFINITELY - you did the right thing- have you heard any more about the person?

You did the safe thing. I would have done the same.

Its pitiful that we live in a world where you have to even think about whether what you did was right or wrong! You did exactly the right thing by the way, but isn't it sad that we have to consider our own safety first in a situation like that. You want to help (and you did!)...but...

I think you did the right thing. You got help by continuing on until you had cell service and could call 911. What a blessing these cell phones are.

I think I would have done just what you did, drive to a place I could call and call 911 and report where the problem was.

There are people out there that prey on others. I know it turned out that it wasn't someone like that, but it COULD have been. You absolutely did the right thing.

I live on a lonely country road I would have done what you did . our world is a little crazy with crazies to take a chance.

See? You did absolutely the right thing! I would have done the same. Getting the right kind of help in the quickest way is the smartest thing to do.:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

You did the right thing. A woman alone at night is a prime target for assault. You had no way of knowing what the circumstances were. By getting to where you had cell phone coverage and calling 911 you did the smartest thing. Help was dispatched and people who were trained to help could respond.

If it were where I live now, I'd stop -- we're in a safe area as far as crooks go. The roads are icy a good portion of the year and it's not uncommon to have accidents around here. Would I do it in the town where I used to live --- not on your life. :) you did right.

I would have stopped - I'll help anyone and if it puts me at risk, well, then it does. I had my car break down on the way home from work and the weather developed very quickly into a blizzard on my drive (in the evening). I was wearing a dress and nylons. I walked on a highway for miles toward a light(farmhouse). When I got there, I couldn't even speak - thankfully they knew me and were able to phone someone to come get me. Several cars drove by me - saw my car with the emergency lights flashing, saw me (female) walking along the highway - yet NOBODY stopped.

I recently gave an intoxicated man a ride - it was hovering around zero degrees. He could have had a weapon, I guess. I will always help people and refuse to live my life being afraid and I will always try to help.

Everyone has a right to make their own decisions - probably no right or wrong decision - but this is what I do.

Hope I don't sound like I'm preaching - I'm just passionate about helping.

Absolutely the right thing. Safety first, and you called it in.

You did the right thing. I think mabey20 years ago you wouldn’t’ think twice about helping but now days there are so many con artist that you don’t know if it was a staged act or not. You’re first priority is you and your loved ones. It’s a sad sad world we have now but don’t feel guilty for anything. You did what you had to do for your own safety. It’s not as though you ignored the whole situation and let it be someone else’s problem. YOU CALLED 911 The circumstances out weighed the situation that the accident put you in. God Bless You

best thing is what you did. You stayed safe and helped out with your call.

You absolutely did the right thing! You got help to them as soon as you could and kept yourself safe!

You know another way of looking at this - what if you had stopped and the person had needed medical attention you were not equipped to provide and the time you wasted stopping would have made a difference to their survival?

I agree....you did the most sensible thing in view of the time/your circumstance (being alone).