As we rounded the corner of one of the interminable aisles at Costco yesterday, there was a small crowd blocking the main artery through the store. As we drew closer and tried to get by, I could see an older man lying on the floor who was the color of a piece of paper. Some people were obviously helping him while others were just doing the lookie-loo thing. Some even had small children who were gawking at this poor sod lying on the concrete floor. It was a sobering sight, and one of which I hope I’m never the main attraction for.
I could hear the sirens getting closer as we passed through checkout, and the ambulance was there before we finished. I didn’t see anybody taking cell phone photos, but I’m sure that some were taken. What is it with people’s morbid attraction to others’ misfortunes?
I can understand the traffic slowing down when passing an accident though. I once saw an accident happen on the opposite carriageway that caused a couple of vehicles to hit the central crash barrier quite near me. My first instinct was of course to slam on the anchors (probably a bad thing to do, but it was instinctive), which is going to cause the person behind me to slam on theirs until it’s slammed anchors all the way down.
Then, morbid curiosity kicks in and people further down the line probably think "well, since I’m slowed down anyway, may as well take a really good look at the wreckage.
I have to slow down at accidents because of all the others slowing down, give me time to get pictures anyway. Besides you should slow down, not to 1 mph, but slower than usual.
I remember when I was on a detail with the Navy on St. Thomas and an American Airlines flight crashed into a gas station off the end of the runway. The city asked us to help contain the site and set up floodlights, so we responded. The crowds gathering were to be understood, but the determination of people to take home trophies of a crash where 37 people died in the impact and fire was appalling to me. I had to physically threaten a man who had a young boy with him to keep him from crossing the rope line. He actually said “what are you going to do if I just come over there and take something?” I pulled a 10" screwdriver and a hammer out of my tool belt and said calmly, “you’re welcome to try.”