I saw something crazy and awful yesterday. I was coming back from lunch whe I saw it. I work in a nearly empty office building in downtown Vancouver, on busy street. The building is still under construction, which is why it's not full yet; the ground floors are still incomplete. I was just about to enter the building when I head a large sound, as if some workmen had just dropped a big palate of sheet metal. I turned towards the street and saw a truck coming down the street at about 25mph, upside down.

Just as I was parsing this sight, getting past the strangeness of it, I heard a second, louder sound. Turning, I saw that a second car had smashed into my office building, through the windows of the incomplete first floor, about 30 feet from where I was standing. The truck came to rest directly in front of me.

I was stunned by the strangeness of it, and worried. I was consumed with a need to act, but I didn't know what to do. There was me, on the curb, a truck, in front of me and upside down, and a car smashed into my office. And for a few seconds, that was it. Nobody and nothing else.

Then people on the other side of the street started running to the accident site, yelling for someone to call 911. The truck in front of me was smoking and gas was pouring out, and the guy was inside. I was struck with indecision. I walked towards the truck, afraid and uncertain, and looked inside for the driver. He was there, he was conscious. I didn't know what to do next: was it safe to move him? What about his spine? Was I in danger? Was he? (What about the gas on the ground? Was it really gas? Was the smoke from a fire? Was it just exhaust? Do cars explode? I'd seen it happen. What about injury? Liability? God help me I'm thinking about liability! Stay calm! Assess the situation!)

Although I understand this confusion, still I curse myself for feeling it. Although without training I couldn't know how to respond, and indeed could've hurt the driver by responding, I still feel weak. I feel weak. It wasn't how I ever thought I would respond in a situation like that. Not how I ever imagined myself to be. I couldn't even call 911. I had left my phone in the office.

A big bald guy rushed past me and, using his coat, started to smash the back window out of the truck. Then he crawled in and began to dislodge the driver. Now people were everywhere, standing around. Some people were helping out the other driver, who was stuck in his car, trapped by the building he had smashed into.

I took the driver of the truck, a big guy with a beard, to the curb and made him sit down. Ambulances arrived, and police cars and fire trucks. Now everything was out of my hands. The professionals had arrived. I stood next to the driver of the truck, who I later found out had caused the accident, and comforted him. He was fine. No injuries.

The big bald guy was an EMT. There were actually, for some reason, 3 EMTs standing at this street corner. They were the ones acting and I'm very grateful they were there. The emergency teams eventually dislodged the other driver, who was also miraculously unharmed.

Here's the news article.