Just The Worst Kind of Drivers

[u/SnotRocketScience1]

Video of some irresponsible driving I caught on cam years ago that led to a multiple vehicle accident. I was able to find a way to submit it to the authorities a few hours later. Apparently, the reckless drivers had been trying to tell the police a wildly different story at the time.

Edit - More Context:

Sorry folks I didn't realize I'd be taking most of the heat here. I do regret not stopping. Honestly didn't even occur to me at the time given the location. So that's on me and it's a fair criticism.

About a year before this, I was first on scene at a head‑on collision that had just happened around a corner ahead of me. I didn’t see the impact itself. It was in the Adirondacks, in a cell‑service dead zone on a two‑lane rural highway. I felt way more than comfortable stopping to render aid, but honestly, I was way out of my depth.

It looked like an elderly woman on oxygen had veered into oncoming traffic while trying to light a cigarette. She was unresponsive, and a red fluid was pouring out from the bottom of the vehicle. I chose to believe it was coolant. Smoke was rolling out from under the hood. When I opened her door, loose cigarettes spilled off her lap onto the pavement. There was very little I could actually do. A few other people arrived, and together we cut her seatbelt and removed the oxygen tank from the back seat as a precaution.

I looked it up later and found out she had died. I still think about it a lot.

It’s not necessarily an excuse, but in the case of this video, I had been driving for four hours already and definitely did not feel comfortable getting out of my vehicle on the Sprain Brook Parkway. I didn’t even remember that I had a dash cam and that it caught the whole thing until 30 minutes later. I still probably could have provided my first hand account in person.. Fair criticism

It took me a few hours to isolate the clip and call different NYSP numbers before I finally reached the investigator assigned to the case. He told me everyone had made it out okay with a few minor injuries. He also said I was already on his call list as a witness and had my name already from my 911 call.

https://www.valhallafd.org/news/6/4-Car-Motor-Vehicle-on-Sprain-Brook-Parkway

Edit edit… damn, well there’s a lesson learned. I’ll never be post another dash cam video again.

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[u/Unamuzed-Toast]

As a former EMT some of yall don’t realize how dangerous freeway accidents are and how much they up the pucker factor for first responders. There’s a reason why most services want a fire truck to block lanes.

Should you help if you can? Sure, but stopping and running into a new accident brings incredible risk. You saw the accident, but sadly most drivers only pay attention to the immediate car in front of them. There’s a very high chance that a driver up the road isn’t paying attention to a sudden stop and they swerve to avoid stopped cars. Anyone standing on that road is toast and a new victim.

If a car is on fire, obviously help a trapped person but be realistic about what you can actually help with and how much risk you’re taking on.

[u/Techno_Beiber → u/Unamuzed-Toast]

I almost ran over two people on the parkway one night. Empty highway and I come up on a curve. All of a sudden I see a broken down car in the middle lane of a three lane highway. No lights on it and I was wondering why. So I slow down a little bit and try to go around it closer to the shoulder. Bam. Two fucking people wearing dark clothing just walking around in the middle of the freeway. There was another car on the shoulder thsa was stopped, too, and no lights on it either. 

I managed to swerve around these two people and both cars without hitting any of them. My tires started squealing and I started to drift a little bit from the braking + swerving I thought I was going to lose control of the car. 

It was bananas.

[u/lavender_poppy → u/Techno_Beiber]

The first question I got on the in person driving test was where were the hazard lights. Those people were idiots to not use them.

[u/Dunderman35 → u/lavender_poppy]

If you actually colided you might not have any lights.

[u/ICanEditPostTitles → u/Dunderman35]

I know I'm an exception here but I have a flashing orange beacon light in the glovebox for that situation. It's magnetic and battery powered and I can put it on the roof of the car, (or whichever part is usable if the car is upside down). It's better than nothing. I have a torch in there too which I could place on the road facing backwards towards traffic.

[u/ScaramouchScaramouch → u/ICanEditPostTitles]

They're mandatory in Spain now. They can also transmit their location to the road traffic authority.

[u/ChinaCatSunflower44 → u/ICanEditPostTitles]

My mom bought me a whole road safety set. Then I thought, what a weird Christmas gift. Now I replace and upgrade as needed.

[u/Flux_My_Capacitor → u/Unamuzed-Toast]

This should be a top comment.

[u/toddverrone → u/Flux_My_Capacitor]

It's 3 from the top now. Sanity is slowly winning

[u/Ferrindel → u/Flux_My_Capacitor]

But it won’t because too many other comments acting as if they’re such better people than OP.

[u/MobileArtist1371 → u/Ferrindel]

It is now so don't worry!

[u/M1R4G3M → u/Ferrindel]

In my country, as a rule of thumb that most parents teach their kids when they start to drive.

"If you are not involved in the accident, don't stop and don't involve yourself".

Which is grim and I always felt better about, but unfortunately, as soon as you involve yourself in any way, you will be in a long process due to how currupt our police is.

I have been in that situation and have a work colleague in the same, we helped someone (in different occasions) cops come, take all your and your cars documents, so you basically can't run away and then treat you like a criminal that caused the incident, and you have to pay to get your stuff back, and you will be psychologically tortured to confess to something you never did.

Its inhumane and just causes people to ignore accidents all the time.

[u/PapagenoRed → u/M1R4G3M]

Not an attempt to dox but which country is this?

[u/M1R4G3M → u/PapagenoRed]

The one country that have an automatic fire weapon on its flag. 🇲🇿

Police corruption is so high that if someone breaks into your house and you suffer a robbery, you call the cops, they will tell you that they don't have Fuel and ask you the victim to send money for that. Being it during the robbery or after to assess damages.

And then you can be "blackmailed" for weeks by them telling you that they have leads of the thieves and just need a bit of money to continue the investigation.

My sister gave up on this when she found that she could just start buying the stuff again instead of paying for the "investigation".

[u/fokkoooff → u/Flux_My_Capacitor]

I'm glad it is now!

[u/tap_flamingo → u/Unamuzed-Toast]

In my country before you even pass your driving license you have to have your first aid license and they prepare you for an accident. Also you have to carry a little triangle symbol in your car if you do stop / brake down where you are not supposed to be, and you put that thing out to sign the other drivers to be aware. If I didn’t have that, I would be afraid to stop on the highway too.

[u/Arbitraryandunique → u/tap_flamingo]

And about half of the time people put those warning triangles right next to the car, so you'll likely see it after you've already seen the car. It's absolutely pointless unless they use it correctly by having someone run along the road and put it far enough to give people a moment to slow down before the problem.

[u/blueberrycauzez → u/tap_flamingo]

Some American drivers will actually try to run over those triangles on purpose.

Of the 3 times I stopped to help with a wreck on an American freeway, there were secondary accidents at 2 of them - one with a driver that was high, the other was on their phone going 90mph.

American drivers and freeways are just more dangerous than European ones.

[u/seehkrhlm → u/blueberrycauzez]

After 5 years living in Germany, I can confirm. Coming back to America after living in that driving heaven was hell.

[u/MightyPirat3 → u/tap_flamingo]

I see drivers putting that triangle on top of the roof of the car to warn others. Like, how did you expect THAT to warn others and help them avoid making another accident?

[u/Ok-Structure6795 → u/Unamuzed-Toast]

We were on our way to vacation and someone had hit 2 different deer up ahead of us, causing them to be stuck in the road like bumps on a log. We wanted to get them out of the road but as you said, its dangerous AF to be out there. Thankfully 2 other cars saw everything and must've read our minds cause they stopped and put their hazards on in an effort to shield us. Husband was able to get one of the deer up and have him hobble out of the way while he dragged the other one with his shirt. The whole time I'm just hoping no one hits us.

[u/Medium-Account-8917 → u/Unamuzed-Toast]

Unfortunately this happened to a friend of mine. Pulled out to help some folks in a crash and then became the victim himself just as you described.

[u/soda_cookie → u/Unamuzed-Toast]

The worst car accident I was ever in totaled my car 100%, all the damage was on the passenger side and I was alone and it was a single car accident. It remained a single car accident for a good 35 minutes until out of the blue somebody slammed into it, fortunately I was out of it at the time. Maybe guy could have pulled over further down the road and offered video to First Responders after the fact, but I'm never going to be one to tell somebody it's their job to risk their life for somebody else, especially if it isn't

[u/ivanvector → u/Unamuzed-Toast]

I was driving a five-ton produce truck years ago in southern Ontario, on a section of freeway known for bad blowing snow from the lakes. It was middle of the night and visibility was bad, and I heard over the CB that a lane was blocked a bit ahead of me, so I started moving over. I barely got my truck over the line before my lights lit up a Jeep spun around in the right lane, no lights on at all, and the driver standing in front of it, facing traffic, talking on their phone.

I blasted my horn and hoped that scared them enough to get the hell off the road. If not for that CB I absolutely would have killed them.

[u/danieldan0803 → u/Unamuzed-Toast]

My hometown had an off duty firefighter killed because he stopped and helped a stranded driver in the middle of a snow storm, fiancé watched the whole thing.

Helping is dangerous, keep flares, cones, high vis gear, and always have someone as lookout. Never be one of the penguin looking dumbasses that huddle as close as possible in a circle around some incident like your presence is going to magically fix things. Like we get it, you have a fetish for drama and seeing potentially the last moments of someone’s life, now back the fuck up and let trained professionals actually help the situation.

[u/Candid-Map-821]

Looks like the Indianapolis 500

[u/BearsSoxHawks → u/Candid-Map-821]

It's the Dumbassopolis 500.

[u/RoguePlanet2 → u/Candid-Map-821]

Cross Bronx IQ 5

[u/OracleofFl → u/RoguePlanet2]

Nope...that is south bound in Westchester...that is why there is a sign for NYC and 287.

[u/NYARNGrecruiter → u/OracleofFl]

Swimmers all swear they are the best drivers and dont put anyone in danger and would hurt themselves before hurting others.

[u/Livid_Swordfish_4591 → u/RoguePlanet2]

Basically not possible to have an IQ of 5 and thats not the cross Bronx. Nice job.

[u/thatupstategent → u/Candid-Map-821]

The NYC 500

[u/CaptainJay313 → u/Candid-Map-821]

no way, people in the indy500 can drive!

[u/pete_68]

Apparently, the reckless drivers had been trying to tell the police a wildly different story at the time.

You don't say. I'm shocked. So he didn't tell the cops he's a wildly reckless driver who additionally, is a shitty driver?

[u/CHEIVIIST → u/pete_68]

I was once a passenger in an accident where the lead car, going around 50 mph, hit a rodent that dashed across the road and then hammered the breaks to a complete stop while staying in the lane. My driver was following too close and didn't have time to stop. The front driver reported that they stopped for the animal and getting rear-ended caused them to hit the animal. Thankfully the insurance didn't buy the story and the front driver was at fault.

I had asked my driver to leave more space no more than a few minutes before the accident, but saying "I told you so" would have landed me sleeping on the couch.

Either way, people tend to be unable to admit that they were in the wrong and often construct a narrative that makes them the victim.

[u/Happy_Mask_Salesman → u/CHEIVIIST]

Fault and behavior aside, our brains and the nature of memory recording make us pretty unreliable narrators most of the time. I was rear ended at a stoplight some years ago and immediately talking to the cop my story was that I had changed a few songs on the radio while at full stop before the hit. In reality it had only been one song change during the deceleration and I was hit almost exactly as I came to a complete stop behind the car ahead of me.

If I hadn't had the dash cam footage to immediately prove myself incorrect on those details, each time retelling the story I would have slowly been more dramatic, not by intention just through human nature of recalling the dramatization of the last retelling and focusing on the feeling instead of fact.

[u/great_apple → u/CHEIVIIST]

The irony of admitting your car was at fault but somehow ending the story "People just can't admit when they're at fault" and "thankfully insurance blamed the guy not at fault" is hilarious.

99% of the time you rear end someone, you're at fault. The exception is if they swerve into your lane just before slamming the brakes. Otherwise, you weren't leaving enough following distance for your speed, or weren't paying attention to what was happening in front of you. You literally admit you had to tell the driver of your car they weren't leaving enough space. It was 100% your driver's fault and it's honestly wild the insurance company didn't agree, bc again- 99% of the time you rear end someone, insurance will say it was your fault. Because it was. Like OK in this case he was braking for a rodent but if he's been braking because of a dangerous hazard in the road, or an accident in front of him, you still would've hit him. Which is why you leave a safe distance- sometimes people actually do need to slam the brakes.

[u/HealthyPop7988 → u/CHEIVIIST]

So you're saying that your "driver" in this situation was at fault but got the insurance company to say otherwise? Because if you told them they were following too close and they ended up rear ending someone then they were absolutely at fault there

[u/blackmambakl → u/HealthyPop7988]

That’s not what was said at all. The diver who stood on their breaks for no reason on the highway was a fault, because you can’t do that, even if someone is following too close.

[u/xandrettix]

As a first responder, thank you for reporting the accident

[u/Jesustron]

I learned alot about driving from these videos. One of them is, if you drive a truck or a SUV you GON flip, you better be belted up.

[u/Only_Impression4100 → u/Jesustron]

Make sure you don't have shit in the passenger compartment that can fly around and bash your skull in also.

[u/Rubiks_Click874 → u/Only_Impression4100]

try not to stick your arm out the window as you're going over

[u/TheFBIClonesPeople → u/Rubiks_Click874]

Unless you're going to unbuckle your seatbelt, dive out the window, and execute a front flip to gracefully land on your feet. That's also considered valid

[u/Deaftoned → u/Rubiks_Click874]

Not even to put up some sick devil horns for the flip?

[u/Life-Sun8620 → u/Only_Impression4100]

This freaks me out with my snowboard back there in the winter. I feel like I'd be sliced and diced, so I need a better solution this winter.

[u/Conspicuous_Ruse → u/Jesustron]

That was my thought too.

Of course the crossover managed to get it's roof to touch the ground.

[u/z44212]

Getting out of your car on the highway can get you killed.

[u/shakebakelizard]

Reddit hilariously will tell you you're a villain for not stopping, when in fact you really need to GTFO of the way and avoid getting rear-ended by anyone else, call 911 and stay out of the way of people who know what they're doing.

Unless you're a medical professional or first responder, or a car is on fire, you're probably just getting in the way. "Just being there" is no kind of help.

Also, don't feel the need to explain yourself. If people can't figure things out on their own, that's their own problem.

[u/MysticMarauder69 → u/shakebakelizard]

None, and I mean NONE, of the people here giving armchair advice would have done anything differently. They're just smugly passing judgment from the safety of the toilet seat, stroking their egos with a little day dream about how they'd handle a chaotic situation perfectly.

[u/SisterOfBattIe → u/shakebakelizard]

I wouldn't have stopped, I would have put the emergency blinkers, slowed down, and asap stopped on right to call emergency responders.

Climbing down the car in the middle of an highway is a good way to increase body count...

[u/Enough_Capital_8786]

send these assholes to jail for life, jeez

[u/Commonscents2say → u/Enough_Capital_8786]

2 out of 3 got away. Hopefully they got the plates off the dash cam.

[u/Inflatable90sChair → u/Commonscents2say]

Or they all likely know each other. Throw the book at the one car till they squeal.

[u/slepongdelta1 → u/Enough_Capital_8786]

Minor injuries only, no one is going to jail. Probably won’t even lose their licenses for long. This country is incredibly lenient on reckless driving.

[u/Acceptable-Mobile-43 → u/slepongdelta1]

This really needs to change. It's truly depressing how many lives are ruined because a couple morons decided to do something moronic.

[u/SensitiveAddition913]

OP, don’t let the “Peanut Gallery” bother you about not stopping. You said that you were over you head when you stopped at an earlier wreck. You’ve called it in and provided video footage. Often times I’ve seen people “trying to help” get completely in the way. You’re absolved of any grief the keyboard warriors are throwing on you.

[u/Advanced-Candle6051 → u/SensitiveAddition913]

My wife’s brother in law got killed by a car while he was being a Good Samaritan trying to help someone on the side of a free way that was in a car crash. What you’re saying is 100% spot on. Her nieces and nephew are growing up without a father because of it.

[u/Lost-Philosophy6689 → u/SensitiveAddition913]

Yeah, lots of people on here think everyone is naturally trained in EMS and have ample emergency equipment in all their vehicles.

[u/LiquidSpin710]

3 wreckless drivers racing/speeding without any consideration of those around them. All for what? Bragging rights. That's it.

Everyone who got out the Infiniti didn't even bother to try and help the two other vehicles that were the victims.

Seriously, the driver should be locked up and have his right to operate ANY vehicle revoked for the rest of his life. I know this is old but that would be equal and fair justice.

[u/MulticolorPeets → u/LiquidSpin710]

Well…2 were wreckless but all three were truly reckless lol

[u/GreatGuy55738084]

They are playing speed racer and end up playing crash cargo. Silly people. Then they will cry (they did it, I’m a victim of their crappy driving).

[u/NortelDude]

How about that idiot then zooming by the right shoulder after?

[u/Inflatable90sChair → u/NortelDude]

Part of the group who doesnt want to be questioned.  

[u/meowzersobased]

don't beat urself up over these comments OP dw

[u/superxpro12]

fuck these braindead reddit morons. I'm not leaving my family stationary in the middle of an active highway to render aid. My first responsibility is to my family. Everything else is secondary. You're good bro.

[u/BootInevitable4910]

911 was the safe way to protect and help everyone involved. I'm not sure what people thinksOP was going to do if he stopped.

[u/bigpproggression → u/BootInevitable4910]

States are passing laws because troopers keep getting hit on highways, but nah OP should have laid their life out for folks they dont know…not everyone wants to risk it.  

[u/Ok-Addition1264]

Wtf is wrong with everyone here?

a car flipped and nobody is rushing to see if everyone's ok? (and it had a kids bike on the back so a kid is more than likely inside)

F*ck all of them. Pathetic.

[u/DistinctOwl5455 → u/Ok-Addition1264]

People are a**holes and I don't disagree that people should have stopped - the car with the bike didn't flip, but still, people are dumb. All three racing drivers should lose their licenses (if they even have them) and should also lose their vehicles - these are the worst humans.

[u/ncc74656m → u/DistinctOwl5455]

Crush the cars jail the drivers. That simple. This should be mandatory time starting with 1 year.

[u/xCeeTee- → u/ncc74656m]

Jail the cars and crush the drivers might be more productive for society.

[u/ColonialSack → u/ncc74656m]

Don't crush them, sell them. There's plenty of people who love and appreciate cars without driving like... The automod won't let me use the appropriate words to describe them....

[u/WhoDisN3wPhone → u/DistinctOwl5455]

They should be in jail. These guys are literally racing, should be an auto min 5 years if no bodily injury occurs. No bullshit bail! More if ppl get hurt!

[u/FrankieG889D → u/WhoDisN3wPhone]

It’s not going to be hard to get the guy in the Charger. He’ll be arrested I would think.

The flock cams will get them.

[u/Additional_Delay_793 → u/[deleted]]

I would not stop, there are probably a bunch more idiot drivers coming. Aggressive driving as show in the video is way too common.

[u/lastreadlastyear → u/Ok-Addition1264]

Uh huh. Get out on an open road and possibly get hit by more speedsters. Roadkill type pathetic.

[u/MSCOTTGARAND → u/Ok-Addition1264]

It's a fuckin highway and this can turn into a 50 car pileup at any moment. You don't just jump out, and try pulling people out of vehicles who could have severe spinal injuries.

[u/WhoDisN3wPhone → u/MSCOTTGARAND]

Idk how ppl are not understanding this.

[u/BetMyLastKrispyKreme → u/MSCOTTGARAND]

If you make the first responders job harder once they get there, by being out of your depth with your abilities to actually help, you’re doing it wrong.

[u/tdurden1969 → u/Ok-Addition1264]

And why isn’t the cam car staying to help and show the police those responsible?!

[u/Big-Screen3266 → u/tdurden1969]

This is NOT how I truly feel but it’s what I’ve learned along the way. In NY you get into more trouble by helping than you do avoiding.

[u/whoneedskollege → u/tdurden1969]

Why didn't he at least check on the flipped car?

[u/Thumper222222 → u/tdurden1969]

As you can see, there was no safe place to pullover. The guard rails are in the way and you can’t just stop in the middle of the highway because of idiots like the ones that caused this whole mess.

[u/Apprehensive-Bar-313 → u/Thumper222222]

On the left, Just past the overhead signs would have been a safe spot.

[u/Lost-Philosophy6689 → u/Apprehensive-Bar-313]

no where on a highway is truly safe. Someone getting out is taking a risk no everyone may be willing to take. Additionally, if they don't have the equipment or expertise to help they can indeed cause more harm

[u/mnztr1 → u/Thumper222222]

Rubbish, you drive past the rolled car and park in front of it and check on them.

[u/Hello_Gorgeous1985 → u/Thumper222222]

There is, in fact, a safe place to pull over just after the accident.

[u/Capital-Confusion-11 → u/Hello_Gorgeous1985]

No not on that roadway because 70% of the drivers are 20 MPH over the speed limits and 40% are driving 80 plus. Racing is frequent.

[u/garry_the_commie → u/Thumper222222]

They could stop immediately after the exit but didn't.

[u/refalsity → u/Ok-Addition1264]

Flipped cars are inherently unsafe environments to render aid until they have been stabilized.

Non-professionals should NOT be attempting to render aid in them in almost all circumstances.

[u/Kelmi → u/refalsity]

Call 911 and ask for actual professional's help on what to do, not some potential AI on Reddit

[u/DrSFalken → u/Ok-Addition1264]

That kids bike made me feel nauseous.

[u/Econolife-350 → u/Ok-Addition1264]

As you can see, there are already doctors and engineers on scene. No need for further assistance.

[u/pugmaisy → u/Ok-Addition1264]

I thought the same thing! I thought for sure the driver would stop and check on the car against the median. When did people become so callous?

[u/virtual_gnus → u/pugmaisy]

I will admit I can be callous, but only when the idiots hurt only themselves. I would have pulled over for this to check on people. Getting to provide dash cam footage would have been a bonus way to help the victims.

[u/RichardMuggedHimself → u/Ok-Addition1264]

A few years ago, I heard a story about someone who tried to help at the scene of a car crash. They moved the injured person because they thought the car was about to catch fire, but in doing so, they caused a long-term health issue for that person. The injured individual sued the Good Samaritan and won. That story has stuck with me, and now, on the rare chance I encounter a car crash, I don't stop unless absolutely necessary. I'm not a professional, and I'm not emergency services. Instead, I’ll call 911 on my way out.

[u/Plane_Translator2008 → u/RichardMuggedHimself]

Most US states have good Samaritan laws to protect people from this. For the record, please remove me from any potentially burning cars.

[u/ExLibris_1 → u/Plane_Translator2008]

It doesn’t stop someone from filing a lawsuit. You’ll still go to court but it provides a strong defense. After sitting on a jury and seeing what lawyers do, I do not want to ever have to take the stand. 

[u/nem0ne1 → u/RichardMuggedHimself]

This is not true! This is potentially life threatening misinformation. The Good Samaritan laws in the US protect you from exactly this kind of situation, that's why they exist. The only case that's similar to what you said was a famous lawsuit in California, but the person suing did not win, and the Good Samaritan laws in CA were later changed to more clearly protect rescuers acting in good faith. There are no cases of Good Samaritans being successfully sued in the US.

[u/Delicious_Reward_779 → u/RichardMuggedHimself]

You read that on social media 🙄

[u/TrickyMission → u/RichardMuggedHimself]

I don’t think that’s true there are strong Good Samaritan protection laws in place everywhere

[u/BellesParallel → u/RichardMuggedHimself]

This story is 100% made up and has been floating around forever. No one can ever actually link the lawsuit though because it doesn’t exist

[u/Horio77]

You got criticized for leaving? F that! Not your monkeys not your circus. Not worth the hassle dealing with all of that when you had nothing to do with it.

These busy body know it alls can pound sand.

[u/Fit_Ad_6727]

bloody hell.. death wish. Those poor people caught in that. Hope no one was seriously hurt.

[u/MidwestDadd1982]

I would be so tempted to get out of the car and kick the shit out of that driver

[u/ready-redditor-6969 → u/MidwestDadd1982]

This!!! I want to say I would stop to help the wounded, but really, there aren’t enough wounded here…

[u/sidetablecharger]

I know this location and don’t blame OP one bit for not wanting to get out of his vehicle there.

[u/SnotRocketScience1 → u/sidetablecharger]

Thanks!

[u/odie-z1]

Everyone piles out of the car, to the k-rail, like it's a party.. and just leave the bicycle sitting in the middle of the road

[u/squeamishfun]

People on this sub are asses. They don’t know this area. It’s not that easy to stop. Call it in but stopping isn’t always possible especially if you have children in your car.

[u/Big77Ben2]

Guess I’ll be on my way…

[u/burns_before_reading → u/Big77Ben2]

"thoughts and prayers"

[u/Strikeronima → u/burns_before_reading]

Two in the toughts one in the prayers

[u/PaulThurston82 → u/Big77Ben2]

Right?!?

[u/Technical-Owl66 → u/Big77Ben2]

Where is he going!?!?! He has evidence to put these idiots in jail.

[u/Arguablybest → u/Technical-Owl66]

read his post

[u/imtrying2listen]

Who the hell is criticizing? Idiots. That's who. As a former first responder, you did 1000% the right thing. People who wait or get out of the car are killed in incidents like this. And where this happened is one of the most dangerous parts of the country. The whole NYC metro area is full of lunatic drivers.

[u/TheFlimFlamFamMan]

Why do multiple people in the comments not understand that rendering aid without qualified immunity (i.e. legal duty to render based on profession) is a recipe for ending up defending yourself against a tort claim.

People get sued for this shit everyday. Call 911 and let the professionals who have protections render the aid.

[u/funhawg → u/TheFlimFlamFamMan]

All 50 states & DC have a Good Samaritan Law which provides civil liability protection to those who volunteer aid to the injured. These state laws vary but commonality is it protects against accidents (e.g. cracking a rib performing CPR) but not for acts that are grossly or willfully negligent, or if the injured party doesn't consent (unconscious victims consent is implied).

[u/TheFlimFlamFamMan → u/funhawg]

That’s the problem. You then have to defend yourself from claims of negligence. The law being there for the end of the claim doesn’t stop the claim from happening, and by then, you’re already out a shit ton of money, with no guarantees that your case will end up with an order to repay your incurred legal fees, in part or in whole.

[u/distant_melodrama]

Good on you for still tracking down the investigator and getting the clip to them, that's what actually matters

[u/LordByronApplestash]

You did exactly the right thing calling 911 and moving your car to safety.

People are fucking morons dude. If you are not a licensed and insured first responder you have no business trying to stop and administer aid. You could end up killing the people you are trying to help, or getting yourself killed. As a first responder, one of the first things I generally have to do is yell at all the civilians who think they are helping by crowding around an accident victim, taking up all their oxygen, or worse, breaking their neck by moving them without proper medical equipment.

[u/Andrew-Cohen]

Keep. It. On. The F’ing. Track.

[u/lisavfr → u/Andrew-Cohen]

Srsly, Pocono is barely 2 hours from there. NJMP under 3 hours from there.

[u/Da_Spooky_Ghost → u/lisavfr]

You think they would let those people on the track? Then they have to buy helmets, safety gear, learn the track rules.

[u/GilgameDistance → u/Da_Spooky_Ghost]

No, no. Let them go solo, no PPE. Armco/tires will take care of the rest.

[u/Typical_Revenue_5709]

That’s some insane behavior

[u/llijerie]

the bike came from the back of the honda crv that was originally hit, they were rear ended and shoved aside by the white car the got side swiped and rolled a couple times. I'm glad to hear everyone was okay, I hope the footage helped to nail those idiots that caused the wreck.

OP don't feel bad for not stopping, you called 911 immediately and you gave the video to the cops. could you have stopped? yeah immediately after there was a pull off but it's okay you helped in other ways! and it sounds like you might have had some shock/ptsd there watching this happen given what you went through pulling the old lady from the car at the accident you stopped for in the past. your not a bad person for not pulling over. now if you didn't call 911 or didn't have the dash cam footage AND you didn't pull over then I'd be changing my tune. you did what you could even if you could have done more but I stand by my original statement, don't feel bad.

[u/Sipikay]

OP, you did the absolute right thing. You immediately called 911 and you got away from where a dangerous situation was ongoing.

[u/Lumpy-Breadfruit-808]

These young ppl r so dumb

[u/LunarDragonfly23]

A Charger, Infiniti, and a BMW walk into a bar…

[u/ziggy-tiggy-bagel]

I was the first on the scene at a one car accident off of HWY 15 on the way to Vegas. Stopped, there really wasn't much I could do besides hold the persons hand as they died. I stopped at the visitor center and the lady wanted to know why I had blood all over my shirt. I hadn't realized that. I never want to be a first responder. Never want to be first on the scene again.

[u/RustyShackleford-11]

We've got the technology to know who these idiots are and what they did. Lock em up for attempted manslaughter and they can never drive again.

It's ridiculous people can drive again after this nonsense.

[u/SmokeyJoe13]

This is my nightmare in life. Driving, chilling, minding my own business and then BOOM. Some stupid idiot involves me in a collision.

[u/SaibaPunkTrunks]

The duality of life.

one person listening to an innocent broadcast about enjoyinh hotdogs and another person causing pile ups.

[u/PassiveMenis88M]

She was unresponsive, and a red fluid was pouring out from the bottom of the vehicle. I chose to believe it was coolant

Much more likely it was transmission fluid from the broken cooler that used to live by/in the radiator. If it was blood you would have known when you opened the door.

[u/Andomals]

You're chilling bro. You provided footage and called it in. Don't let the keyboard warriors discourage you, thank you for posting

[u/GrassLongjumping3901]

damn, well there’s a lesson learned. I’ll never be post another dash cam video again.

no. upload all you want. You reported the accident. All good in my book if you are uncomfortable stopping.

[u/fraupanda]

the people judging you for not stopping have never driven on the Sprain and it shows.

[u/888888888888eight]

It’s always the tinted window drivers

[u/BirdWhichIsBaldEagle]

Who else knew right away?

[u/AbsolutelyNotAPossum → u/BirdWhichIsBaldEagle]

Charger and Q50 flying by at warp speed? Yeah, we know how this ends.

[u/wastedsilence33 → u/BirdWhichIsBaldEagle]

I thought OP was gonna complain about the car passing on the right as if that makes the other guy the idiot

[u/MysticMarauder69 → u/BirdWhichIsBaldEagle]

Lmao, you just can't help yourself, can you? Gotta make yourself feel superior somehow, I guess.

[u/FrontHoneydew933 → u/BirdWhichIsBaldEagle]

A Charger and Infiniti driving recklessly putting others at risk? For a fact. Willing to bet one of those cars is stolen.

[u/Hard-Red7]

Fuckin morons

[u/Hot_Pool_7172]

Son estúpidos,

[u/dirtyvu]

A moment later...

[u/-SkeptiCat]

Goddammit people are so fucking dumb now

[u/DEFme]

ny checking in. yup. sprain brook pkwy. that checks out.

[u/Luckyy-Charmzz]

Idiots…..

[u/Jack_Forge]

This dashcam footage is gonna go so bad for that them.

You did the right thing.

[u/RedBeard762]

Nearby drivers should really be allowed to stop and dispense street justice on people who cause these sorts of accidents.

[u/Feeling-Bid-326]

You got your classic dodge, Nissan (Infiniti), and old bmw. These encompass the same income bracket in addition to the usual suspects. You could tell this without having to even slow down the video given the frequency of morons driving these cars.

[u/Kihlstein]

I doubt anybody is surprised by the outcome.

[u/torch9t9]

Right to jail. Right away.

[u/yes_im_kvothe]

Hollywood needs to stop making Fast and Furious movies. People waking up and feeling "Im gonna drive like Toreto today"

[u/_medium_ugly]

Lizard brains

[u/fadingsignal]

Don't sweat it, op. If you stopped on the freeway and got out of your car, you'd have just as many comments calling you a suicidal idiot. People have posted videos of them sitting at a stop light getting smashed into and comments placed the blame on them. Don't let it get under your skin. Thankfully this is why we have dash cams, police, insurance experts, and lawyers, because the common person knows next to zero about pretty much anything and bases their entire worldview and actions on whatever sparks a sharp emotion, rather than any kind of reasoning.

[u/Budd430]

With that evidence, it should ne attempted murder.

[u/Fdiskformatofficial]

Scum

[u/ducxxx]

u/SnotRocketScience1 you took way more heat than you deserve here, but don't let it weigh too heavy on you. The loudest people on public social media (reddit, youtube, FB, etc) are isolated and socially impaired, you know that. They will pile on, instantly, and preach, as if they are condemning their own deficiencies, not yours.

It seems like you actually did everything you are legally obliged to do. You made a 911 emergency call, left your info, and carefully left the scene of the accident to make way for EMS & fire.

If you'd been a part of the accident, you'd have been legally obliged to stay, but you didn't hit anyone or cause any part of this accident.

That said, I think your conclusion is correct. You probably should only share footage like this with the authorities and possibly media. The response you get on social media will be predictably shitty.

[u/OdeeSS]

OP you're a saint for making sure this got submitted to authorities.

[u/Brainmatter1]

All these Germans complaining about OP not stopping.... They need to get off their high horse. 

They always seem to be on the wrong side of history. So why should we listen to them? 

What OP did is perfectly reasonable. 

[u/jacobbeasley]

Poor bicycle

[u/CeeKay125]

BMWs and Dodge Charger. Why am I not surprised?

[u/halfabricklong → u/CeeKay125]

You forgot Infiniti..

[u/naufalap]

look at all these armchair angels in the comment section lol, I bet all of them would just freeze in the middle of the road and cause other needless accidents

don't bother with the comments OP, you did the right thing not stopping in a highway

[u/Catnip_Farmer]

You were 100% right to drive away.

[u/Unlucky_Cat4531]

This comment will probably be lost in all the others, but OP you did NOTHING wrong by not stopping.

The weekend of my 13th birthday, we were meeting for visitation drop off but there was a recent wreck and since both of my parents are medical field, they went to go see if they could help.

The roads were very icy and a woman didn't see the accident, ending up hitting a car that hit a car on the OG accident and that hit my mom and dad. They flew 30 feet and hit the concrete, both had to stay in the ER for a week and both almost died. It was terrifying, they shouldn't have even been in that situation.

Best case, everyone paid attention and you wouldn't have been hurt helping. Worst case.... You get my drift. Stop and help if you can but DONT do it if there's a good chance you'll die trying. A highway where people obviously speed like morons is NOT the spot to stop and help, at least until police can arrive and block lanes.

[u/familyedit]

I'm glad to see the dashcam driver just left

[u/haloimplant → u/familyedit]

Me too stopping on the highway is dangerous and if they aren't medically trained can't really help. I'm not stopping for shit get over it.  

Heard stories from people who stopped, they were fine but their car was crashed into and people died from it and now they get to live with that.   Never going to be me.

[u/crasagam → u/familyedit]

No everyone is capable of physically helping. Calling 911 is helping.

[u/NonSequiturDetector → u/familyedit]

A crew of car thieves just wrecked the stolen car that they were joyriding in, and then start wandering around in the street, and you berate the cammer for not hanging around?

[u/Mail_Order_Lutefisk → u/NonSequiturDetector]

What makes you say they are car thieves? As best I can tell they are particle physicists who likely had a cutting edge breakthrough and needed to get to the nearest research university or particle accelerator to discuss it with top level scientists. 

[u/Skoldier13 → u/familyedit]

Are you glad that they said they reported it?

[u/Snowy2954]

All the people telling you that you should have stopped to render aid are morons.

It didn't occur to you. This means you're not trained. You immediately did what you could, which was call 911 and inform them. That was your only real duty here. Stopping would have crowded the scene, you are unskilled and there are plenty of people behind you on this crowded day - some of them are trained responders.

Thank you for NOT stopping and worsening matters.

[u/Robo-X]

WTF you are suppose to call 911, stop and help not drive away. In Germany you could be charged for not providing help.

[u/ExLibris_1 → u/Robo-X]

Walk out into the highway and pull a potential spinal cord injured person out? Not on your life. This is a notoriously bad road and you’ll be flattened. 

[u/snarkycrumpet → u/Robo-X]

you can hear him call 911 at the end of the video. I'm not sure I'd stop on the Sprain Brook, it's treacherous and I'm in no way qualified in first aid nor dealing with possibly drugged up racing drivers

[u/VFenix → u/Robo-X]

Stop on a high speed road by a crash, so safe

[u/Anon159023 → u/Robo-X]

German law does not require that you stop on highways for crash victims, don't spread misinformation.

[u/plankowoodinthewoods → u/Robo-X]

Yeah nah. i'm driving away.

[u/amandadore74 → u/Robo-X]

Uh, they did call 911. Do you need your ears checked or was your sound off/down?

In the US you're strongly encouraged (not required unless in a "Duty to Assist" state) to report and move on provided you are not putting anyone or yourself in danger.

[u/Random_Trashy → u/Robo-X]

I agree this is a bit irresponsible. It’s the least one can do

[u/mjfarmer147]

Wauw

[u/Aware-Pea2092]

What were they trying to prove ?

[u/MycologistOwn4612]

That driver needs to go to prison.

[u/l008com]

The problem with this video wasn't "speed", it was the reckless driving that happened to include speed.

Also, if you manage to flip someone over on the highway, maybe go check on them instead of just standing around.

Also, real advice for everyone. if you get in a bad accident on the highway, turn your hazards on and STAY IN YOUR CAR, with the seatbelt on. Traffic is still coming behind you, and getting hit a second time while safe in your car is a LOT better than being hit by that car while you are trying to run across a highway. Just call 911 and stay put until emergency vehicles arrive and close the road.

[u/Substantial_Suit4973]

What in the fuck

[u/Boostr1]

Truth, surprised they didnt start running lol. Had a couple of douchenozzels do the same thing on rte20/ Mclean Blvd in NJ fortunately nobody wrecked.

[u/dgreddit14]

Reckless drivers. 🤬

[u/SouthernProfile1092]

“This is not an accident. This is a collision, if it was an accident there would be no one to blame” - some cop said that to the teenage driver who was me.

[u/Fit_Feature_794]

That’s so fucked up

[u/Imaginary_Fall4234]

Personal safety before others.