[BryanXavier]

I think this video sums up the reasons why many people come to DR. The realization that you will die and being fully aware of it. Yes, that man had seconds until death, and we have a little longer to ponder it as well.

Reminds of a poem.

Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
BY THOMAS GRAY
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea,
The plowman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

Now fades the glimm'ring landscape on the sight,
And all the air a solemn stillness holds,
Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight,
And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds;

Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tow'r
The moping owl does to the moon complain
Of such, as wand'ring near her secret bow'r,
Molest her ancient solitary reign.

Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade,
Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap,
Each in his narrow cell for ever laid,
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.

The breezy call of incense-breathing Morn,
The swallow twitt'ring from the straw-built shed,
The cock's shrill clarion, or the echoing horn,
No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed.

For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn,
Or busy housewife ply her evening care:
No children run to lisp their sire's return,
Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share.

Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield,
Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke;
How jocund did they drive their team afield!
How bow'd the woods beneath their sturdy stroke!

Let not Ambition mock their useful toil,
Their homely joys, and destiny obscure;
Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile
The short and simple annals of the poor.

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

Nor you, ye proud, impute to these the fault,
If Mem'ry o'er their tomb no trophies raise,
Where thro' the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault
The pealing anthem swells the note of praise.

Can storied urn or animated bust
Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath?
Can Honour's voice provoke the silent dust,
Or Flatt'ry soothe the dull cold ear of Death?

Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid
Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire;
Hands, that the rod of empire might have sway'd,
Or wak'd to ecstasy the living lyre.

But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page
Rich with the spoils of time did ne'er unroll;
Chill Penury repress'd their noble rage,
And froze the genial current of the soul.

Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

Some village-Hampden, that with dauntless breast
The little tyrant of his fields withstood;
Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest,
Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood.

Th' applause of list'ning senates to command,
The threats of pain and ruin to despise,
To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land,
And read their hist'ry in a nation's eyes,

Their lot forbade: nor circumscrib'd alone
Their growing virtues, but their crimes confin'd;
Forbade to wade through slaughter to a throne,
And shut the gates of mercy on mankind,

The struggling pangs of conscious truth to hide,
To quench the blushes of ingenuous shame,
Or heap the shrine of Luxury and Pride
With incense kindled at the Muse's flame.

Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife,
Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray;
Along the cool sequester'd vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.

Yet ev'n these bones from insult to protect,
Some frail memorial still erected nigh,
With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture deck'd,
Implores the passing tribute of a sigh.

Their name, their years, spelt by th' unletter'd muse,
The place of fame and elegy supply:
And many a holy text around she strews,
That teach the rustic moralist to die.

For who to dumb Forgetfulness a prey,
This pleasing anxious being e'er resign'd,
Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day,
Nor cast one longing, ling'ring look behind?

On some fond breast the parting soul relies,
Some pious drops the closing eye requires;
Ev'n from the tomb the voice of Nature cries,
Ev'n in our ashes live their wonted fires.

For thee, who mindful of th' unhonour'd Dead
Dost in these lines their artless tale relate;
If chance, by lonely contemplation led,
Some kindred spirit shall inquire thy fate,

Haply some hoary-headed swain may say,
"Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn
Brushing with hasty steps the dews away
To meet the sun upon the upland lawn.

"There at the foot of yonder nodding beech
That wreathes its old fantastic roots so high,
His listless length at noontide would he stretch,
And pore upon the brook that babbles by.

"Hard by yon wood, now smiling as in scorn,
Mutt'ring his wayward fancies he would rove,
Now drooping, woeful wan, like one forlorn,
Or craz'd with care, or cross'd in hopeless love.

"One morn I miss'd him on the custom'd hill,
Along the heath and near his fav'rite tree;
Another came; nor yet beside the rill,
Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he;

"The next with dirges due in sad array
Slow thro' the church-way path we saw him borne.
Approach and read (for thou canst read) the lay,
Grav'd on the stone beneath yon aged thorn."

THE EPITAPH
Here rests his head upon the lap of Earth
A youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown.
Fair Science frown'd not on his humble birth,
And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.

Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere,
Heav'n did a recompense as largely send:
He gave to Mis'ry all he had, a tear,
He gain'd from Heav'n ('twas all he wish'd) a friend.

No farther seek his merits to disclose,
Or draw his frailties from their dread abode,
(There they alike in trembling hope repose)
The bosom of his Father and his God.

[knkurfaceoff]

In a situation like that, more than likely, he wouldn't be responsive. He is probably in shock due to the sudden trauma and the blood loss. And seeing something like that would have been traumatizing for the witnesses. No one knows what to do, how to help, or even if they should go near him. Tragic, but honestly and obviously, he was driving reckless. Sometimes you fuck up and get fucked up.

[knkurfaceoff]

i would much rather be this guy

http://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/tulsacrash.asp

[knkurfaceoff]

Originally Posted by jbell0129 ↗

people are shit man...why not help the man

And do what? Scoop up his organs and try and reinsert them into his abdomen? How bout try and rearrange his legs and spine in a manner where he could lay on his back? Or pinch off every artery he severed in the accident? Hope you have a defibrillator, because he will go into cardiac arrest within minutes.

A emergency room full of trained professionals wouldn't be able to save this man. Random people on the street couldn't either.

[evilsponge]

First rule in a accident is don't move the victim until medical personnel tell you to or if they're in immediate danger (car burning ect).

[kenindia84]

I have a question that even if i am there and want to help , what can I possibly do ??? I have had a situation couple of years back when a biker got his leg trapped under a bus , well this guy in the video seems very cool but unfortunately that biker was screaming like hell I called the ambulance as soon as people gathered I left because I was very shocked and disturbed but I really wanted to help.

[kik]

Originally Posted by saturnalia ↗

You can bash the onlookers for failing to respond but in a situation like this its easy to just get lost in the sense of awe, "holy crap what the hell is this?" unless you're trained and hardenned to take action you cant be very effective. What might be more useful than a pat on the back and a few kind words would be elevating their hips so they dont bleed out as fast.

When I was 13 I saw a Ford Escort going at a huge rate of knots, the driver lost control on a bend near where we were parked (in a roadside stop) the right rear wheel hit the gravel and he over corrected and the car rolled.....typical early Escort (watch old rally footage) anyway it rolled about three times before it went over a barrier and down at least 80 to 100 feet of an almost shear drop, who was first over the barrier?...me, my sisters boyfriend was next.

We got halfway down before we could even see the car, a damn big tree had stopped its progression further down, we moved closer and saw his dog, it was dead, closer still we saw his right arm, we got to the car and he was just groaning and gurgling, Bill (my sisters boyfriend) told me to run back up and get towels and blankets, (he was to fucking fat) I did this and came back down, this was 1978 no cell phones back then, my sister flagged a car down, but it was at least 45 minutes before an ambulance arrived, we ended up getting my sister down there also, Ross (the driver of our car) was way fat and would never have made it either down nor up was left to wait for the ambo, the three of us tried out best to stem the flow of blood, but this guy had fingers missing on his left hand, no right arm below the elbow, both legs had compound fractures one at the ankle that was literally hanging off.

I asked him his name, he was coherant enough to respond with a grated "Mark" my sister then told him to slow his breathing and that we would not leave him until help arrived, i had the dubious role of trying to stop the blood from the ankle wound as I was the smallest and could actually get in the car through the rear windscreen (car was on its roof against the tree, for 45 minutes or more I stayed that way just keeping pressure on the ankle and we were all telling him that it wasn't too bad and trying to keep him calm.

When I went up to get the blankets I picked up his arm and put it in our esky (cooler), eventually the ambos showed up and let us off the hook, but told us to not go anywhere, we all had to make statements etc.

The strangest thing though was not how we reacted but that as it turned out we all knew this guy, i was already learning panel beating at the time in a shop called "Speedies Paint and panel" as it turned out it was Speedies son, i worked most weekends in Speedies, but that weekend Speedie said I could have the day off, it was quiet at work and hot as hell outside, so the four of us decided to go to a place called "the natural arch", a popular huge swimming hole, but the road was single lane back then and very dangerous, as Mark found out.

The next time I saw mark was about six months later Speedie brought him into work to meet me and my sister and Billy boy, he was in a chair but not paralised, his arm didn't make it and none of his fingers were recovered, but boy was he happy to be alive.

Funny now that I think of it the only thing that was uncomfortable for me was the position I had to lie in for 45 minutes keeping his ankle wrapped...weird huh?.

We left Queensland not long after that incident so I have no idea how Mark is today, hopefully well and happy.

Before we left though we got a visit from the ambos and two police officers who came to see us and say thanks for keeping young Mark alive, they asked how we knew what to do, to be honest we didn't have a clue, my sister just said "blood is life and all I thought was we have to keep as much in to keep him alive" she was a rock and it was her that saved his life, Bill and I were useless until my sis arrived, she is now a vet.....go figure :) .

[Billthegravedigger]

Damn Kik, sounds like you have seen some shit go awry a few times too. Sucks when that happens, but what really sucks is when no matter what you try, it doesn't help. You are a good man to stay and help that guy like that, others would have been like the people in the video, just gawking.