Accidents Happen - 3. Chapter 3 - A Life Saved

Chapter 3 – A Life Saved

For a moment Charlie sat on the ground stunned. However, all it took was the sight of people moving in toward the dark coated figure for Charlie to get himself into action.

“Oh my God, is he dead,” gasped the horrified voice of the woman driver as she left her car and began to head back toward the man on the street.

Charlie stood up and moved quickly. He could see an elderly gentleman trying to get on his knees to check on the figure.

“Don’t move him,” Charlie said rather loudly as he moved closer. “If he is hurt the movement could make it worse.”

“Don’t worry. I’m trained in CPR as well,” was the calm response from the elderly gentleman, while he slowly looked the man over for bleeding. The old man checked and nodded that the man was breathing.

There was a crowd beginning to form on the corner. Charlie saw how everyone was clustering closer and closer to the injured man, and he knew he had to do something before the man was injured worse than he already was.

“Has anyone called the cops, or an ambulance?” Charlie asked loudly.

“I did,” said an older woman in a dark suit. She raised her cell phone and then continued talking into it.

“He looked like he fell into the traffic,” began a girl with bright red and blue hair.

“Didn’t look he was planning to,” began someone else.

“I swear it looked like he was,” cried out another voice. However, it seemed everyone suddenly wanted to talk and no one wanted to listen. The volume was rising but there was little help being offered to the man on the ground. Outside of the elderly man who had now moved the victim’s legs up to rest on his lap. It almost looked like the victim had leaned back after sitting on the elderly man’s lap. Charlie knelt down next to the old man.

“Sir, can you hear me,” asked Charlie tentatively. He didn’t want to scare the man if was awake and injured. There was no movement. Charlie leaned in closer. “Sir, can you hear me?” Getting no response Charlie took a moment to look around him.

The sounds of the ambulances soon filled the air. The woman driver stood silently a few feet from the victim all alone. She looked like she was in shock, and Charlie moved to her side and had her sit down. He put his coat around her shoulders and stayed by her side till the ambulances could be seen turning the corner. Then, he went back to kneel by the man on the side of the road. There was no blood that he could see, but the arm was bent at an odd angle. Charlie could say with little hesitation that the man’s right arm was broken. He really didn’t have much time to notice anything else because the ambulance drivers arrived, followed immediately by the police.

“Would you all, please, just stay here? I will need to get statements from all of you who witnessed the accident,” began the female cop as she put up flares to warn off other cars.

The driver, Dolores Wiles, was bundled into one of the two ambulances that arrived. The first set of drivers told the policewoman that Dolores was in shock, and being taken to the local hospital. Any statements could be taken there, since she would be held for few hours.

The other ambulance team worked slowly over the victim. He was still unconscious when they arrived. They had taken time to roll him over, and were getting him onto a stretcher. They had commented that his arm was broken and it appeared that he had broken a rib or two. Charlie felt as if the wind was knocked out of him. At least his CPR training hadn’t failed him. It had felt like forever, but from the time of the phone call to the arrival of the ambulances and police was just over 7 minutes. It helped that they were literally around the corner from the firehouse when the accident happened.

As they began to load the victim into the ambulance, Charlie grabbed his coat from the ground where Mrs. Wiles had left it. Then he moved as if to enter the ambulance.

“Excuse me, Sir,” began the sharp female voice from behind him. “Do you know the victim?”

Charlie turned to see the policewoman had now focused on him.

“Honestly,” began Charlie, “no I don’t. However, he just saved my life and I don’t think he should be left alone.” Seeing the officer wasn’t about to let him go, he began to pace back and forth to burn up his anxious energy. He kept stealing glances of the ambulance as the victim was strapped securely to the gurney, and the doors of the ambulance were closed up.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t go with him. I need to take your statement first. Afterwards if you want I will make sure you are taken to the hospital as well. Now what do you mean he saved your life?”

So Charlie stopped pacing, and instead rather sheepishly began to tell the officer of how he had been rather consumed in his own thoughts that morning. The fact was he was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the traffic. If the gentleman in the dark coat hadn’t grabbed him and shoved him backwards Charlie would have been in front of the car. Instead, the gentleman was thrown off balance and took a glancing blow from the side of the car. Charlie looked up to see other officers were there now taking statements from the other witnesses. Remembering what he had heard earlier he wondered if any of them had actually seen the whole thing.

“Well, it sounds as if the whole thing was an accident and the victim is something of a hero,” began Officer Justine after she had finished asking a few questions to help in her write up. As she was about to ask another question Charlie’s phone began to ring loudly.

“Excuse me for a moment, Officer,” Charlie stated as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone. “This shouldn’t take long.” Looking at the phone he realized someone at the school was calling him.

“Hello.”

“Charlie? Is that you?”

“Marie?”

“Yes, is everything okay? School starts in a half hour and you aren’t here. You haven’t ever been late.” Charlie couldn’t help but smile. Marie was the main secretary in the elementary school. In fact she had originally been hired right after her high school graduation and had been working there for over thirty years now. Every teacher in the school signed in at her desk, but she had taken a shine to Charlie. He realized he had missed the bus that would have taken him to school and even if he went straight there from the accident he would be late. It was no wonder Marie was calling to check on him.

“I’m sorry, Marie. There was an accident,” Charlie began.

“Oh, honey, are you and Tina alright?” The concern in her voice was clear. She was worried something might have happened to one of them. She wasn’t a nosy person but she seemed to find out the important things about people she took a shine to.

“No, Tina isn’t here.” Charlie took a deep breath. This wasn’t the time to break down, he still had to finish with the police officer and get to the hospital to check on the man who had saved his life.

“I was on my way to the bus stop and there was an accident. I’m sorry, I’ve been talking to the police here and there is no way I’m going to make it there today. Marie, can you call in a sub for me? I have plans in a red folder in the top desk drawer of my desk. I still have to get to the hospital.”

“Leave it to me, just call me later and let me know if you need anything, and if I should arrange for a sub for tomorrow for you as well.”

“Thank you, Marie. I promise to call later and fill you in.”

Charlie hung up and Officer Justine finished writing up something in her notebook.

“Well Mr. Wagner, I’m about done here. If you would like a ride to the hospital you can go with me. Just be aware you will have to be in the back seat.”

“Thank you, I do want to go.” Charlie slid his phone in his pocket and began to follow Officer Justine back to her car.

“Then I guess you will get a chance to thank Mr. Reeds,” Officer Justine stated as she held the rear door of the police car open for him.

“Mr. Reeds?” asked Charlie, as he slid into the back of the car. He looked up into the face of the police officer as she shook her head and began to close the door.

“Yes, that is the name of the man who saved your life, Mr. Scott Reeds.”

Charlie now had a name to go with the face, but how do you thank someone for saving your life?