I think I’d have stayed, but pulled a chair out of the office, put on my headphones, and sat there ten feet awsy, watching her or reading the newspaper until the cops came.
Joe
I’d have stayed but I’d tell her that the price of my staying is that she has to play nice. One more bit of abuse and I’d leave.
Forcing her to watch 127 Hours might have been fun.
There is a garage right down the road that is AAA. The only time I’ve called AAA from work, the guy showed up in a few minutes. When I began explaining about AAA, she cut me off before I ever reached that part.
You kind of left her in a tough spot. It’s possible someone could have come along and taken advantage of her situation before the cops got there. But, if I were you, I probably would have done the same thing considering her behavior.
Wow I just can’t imagine being in that situation (hers) and doing so much work to chase off the only help available.
I don’t think you were out of line at all, there’s no requirement to endure abuse to help someone.
Why not force the window down, they are on an elevator type part which if pushed would have fixed it, or asked her if she wanted to bust out the window.
First, let me thank you for having a situation described as weird in the thread title be, in fact, weird. Half the time I open these threads and am disappointed that the situation isn’t weird at all.
Eh, I think you probably should have stayed (although in your office, or in your car, or somewhere that you didn’t have to listen to her) until the police came, but I can’t really fault you for leaving given her attitude.
I think part of her being upset was your laid back response. She wanted 911, and you kept suggesting AAA and other alternatives.
She’s stuck. She’s been screaming for help. She has to pee. She’s experiencing swelling. She’s panicking and she needs help asap. Sure, it’s totally not your fault that she got stuck or that you didn’t hear her, but she is at the point where she is losing it. Don’t make it worse, even if she is being nasty.
I would have run to call 911 or the local number, acted all omg are you ok concerned, and been all let me help you this is so awful poor you attentive until she calmed down enough to let you try one of your alternatives.
No way in hell would I have left her there, or said “whatever” and leave to someone who needed assistance or comfort while help arrived. That’s mean, no matter what was spewing out of her mouth.
Hell no I wouldn’t have stayed. You try to do her a favor and she calls you an idiot? I’d have told her I’ll inform the police and driven off right then and there.
I understand why you did not stay. Her behavior towards you was awful.
However, to me, the situation qualified as an emergency, so I would have handled it differently from the start. She was trapped so she couldn’t move and her arm was swelling. To me, that’s worthy of 911. They probably get plenty of similar calls with people getting stuck in elevators or toddlers sticking their heads through the crib bars. I don’t think calling AAA would have even occurred to me.
You did the right thing. Wanting to save on the cost of a new window is not an emergency, no matter how many people in this thread try to tell you otherwise.
“I’m an idiot? I’m not the one with the swollen arm stuck in a car window because I locked my keys inside!”
Then I’d have taken and immediately posted video to YouTube, being sure to get her license plate in the shot.
Then I’d have shouted “good luck” as I drove away laughing.
I would have stayed, I think. Sometimes I have too much empathy–I’d have thought about how I would have felt to be left all alone stuck with my arm in my car. I’d have told her, though, “Either you quit abusing me, or I’m going to go wait in my office and keep an eye on you through the window to make sure nobody bothers you. It’s the human thing to do not to leave you alone, but that doesn’t mean I have to take your crap.”
I think I’d have called 911 too, and been apologetic: “I’m not sure this qualifies as an emergency, but…” and let the 911 operator make the call.
Stayed? I wouldn’t have missed a moment for the world!
Seriously, though, since real life isn’t a Charles Addams cartoon, I’d have done much like the OP: stay calm, de-escalate the situation (this thread is basically l’esprit de l’escalier); and instead of help or advice offer her* informed options: *“do you want me to call 911? If I do, you know they may send an ambulance and a fire truck in case you may be injured, not a police car. You will be billed for that. Do you want me to smash the window? It may be less expensive than 911. Is there a family member with a spare set of keys I can call? Do you have a hide-a-key on the car frame?” etc.
Listen for the answers and ignore the venting: don’t take it personally. Then, when it’s over you’ll feel like the most cool, capable person on earth.
The only way I would have played it different would be to call 911 to have the rescue squad come out. They would have broken the window to free her, and the raging bitch would then have a glass bill to deal with as payback for the verbal abuse.
Look bitch, you can stop screaming, be a nice person and I will help you. Keep screaming abuse at me and I may just go get the back hoe and make sure no one ever finds you.
My favorite so far. 
What an ungrateful bitch. Panic or no, getting your dumbass arm caught in no way gives you the right to rain abuse down on someone who’s trying to help you.
I don’t think you did anything wrong. But you could have sat in your car, moving away if necessary, just to keep an eye on things until the police showed up. Not that I would be that concerned about her either, but she sounds like the kind of person who might do something vindictive if she managed to get free.
I’d have called 911. Seeing as she could have hurt her arm by being stuck in one position for so long it could have been seen as an emergency. I once saw a guy get his arm stuck in a mailbox downtown. There was so much mail in it that he’d put his hand in there trying to shove some down to make room so his package would fit. When we couldn’t find someone from the post office to help, we called 911.
And anytime I call 311 for something like a loud party they tell me to call 911 anyway.