# Woman jumps in front of car, saves child. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 7, 2017, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334 "2017-06-07T03:58:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/1 "2017-06-07T03:58:35Z")
Very graphic footage. I’m stunned that neither one was killed on the spot. [‘She Is a Heroine’: Connecticut Woman Jumps in Front of Speeding Car to Save Boy’s Life (Warning: Graphic Video)](http://ktla.com/2017/06/06/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-boys-life/) > [@](#): > > A woman jumped in front of a speeding vehicle to save a young boy’s life just before the car crashed into pedestrians and slammed into a building in Bridgeport, Connecticut, CNN reported Monday. > > They said her body absorbed much of the impact, thereby saving the child’s life, though he was seriously injured. Jordan did not know the boy. > > Police said doctors initially thought they would have to amputate both of the boy’s legs, but surgeons spent hours operating and were able to save them. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/2 "2017-06-07T04:22:38Z")
Damn. That is some serious bravery. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/3 "2017-06-07T04:22:48Z")
I hate to say it, but I don’t think she did anything except be a buffer. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/4 "2017-06-07T04:33:02Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I hate to say it, but I don’t think she did anything except be a buffer. Sorry. I thought this initially, but it’s hard to say. She’s going up the street towards the vehicle, then turns perpendicularly into the car’s path, rather than away from it. I understand, though, that her body language doesn’t necessarily indicate she is trying to push the boy out of the way, but everything is happening so fast, I can’t say one way or another what is happening here. What’s the greater context of this story? How’d the car end up there? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/5 "2017-06-07T09:43:23Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I hate to say it, but I don’t think she did anything except be a buffer. Sorry. Sorry too but I agree. The notion that she somehow “absorbed” some meaningful amount of the cars energy is ludicrous. I think she probably acted instinctively (and bravely) in an attempt to pushe the boy out of harms way. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/8 "2017-06-07T12:23:09Z")
I hate to sound like a jerk, but I’m not seeing that she did anything at all other than trying to get the hell out of the way of the oncoming car (and the kid was in her path). I’m willing to be wrong, but that video is not showing me that I am. mmm ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/9 "2017-06-07T12:31:20Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I hate to sound like a jerk, but I’m not seeing that she did anything at all other than trying to get the hell out of the way of the oncoming car (and the kid was in her path). > > I’m willing to be wrong, but that video is not showing me that I am. That’s what I thought **Leaffan** ’s post was saying originally, but after reading **Lucas Jackson** ’s post, maybe that’s what was meant. At any rate, see my previous reply. It can go either way for me. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/10 "2017-06-07T15:22:33Z")
1. It doesn’t look like this was an intentional act on her part; her eye gaze is focused on an entirely different direction than where the child is in that split second before impact. 2. As others pointed out - her actions probably didn’t do much, if anything, to help the child from a physical standpoint - in fact the car more or less struck the two individuals independently simultaneously, with pretty much no physical shielding by her body. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/11 "2017-06-07T15:35:39Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > 1. As others pointed out - her actions probably didn’t do much, if anything, to help the child from a physical standpoint - in fact the car more or less struck the two individuals independently simultaneously, with pretty much no physical shielding by her body. I think she was thicker than the kid, and she was also closer to being dead-center on the nose of the car, so she probably did absorb more of the impact than the kid. Even if we disregard her greater front-to-back abdominal thickness, she surely absorbed at least half of the impact; without her being there, the kid would have absorbed the entire impact, and probably would have been much more severely injured. That said, it sure doesn’t look like her presence was intentional, or that she did anything to deliberately try to get the kid out of harm’s way. She’s not a quick-thinking selfless hero, just an unfortunate victim like the kid. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/12 "2017-06-07T17:16:26Z")
Man, that’s brutal to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/13 "2017-06-07T18:04:16Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I hate to sound like a jerk, but I’m not seeing that she did anything at all other than trying to get the hell out of the way of the oncoming car (and the kid was in her path). > > I’m willing to be wrong, but that video is not showing me that I am. > mmm +1 ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/14 "2017-06-07T19:13:31Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I think she was thicker than the kid, and she was also closer to being dead-center on the nose of the car, so she probably did absorb more of the impact than the kid. > > Even if we disregard her greater front-to-back abdominal thickness, she surely absorbed at least half of the impact; without her being there, the kid would have absorbed the entire impact, and probably would have been much more severely injured. > > That said, it sure doesn’t look like her presence was intentional, or that she did anything to deliberately try to get the kid out of harm’s way. She’s not a quick-thinking selfless hero, just an unfortunate victim like the kid. Considering most of the damage is from the car-person-wall sandwich, and she doesn’t appear to be in front of him at this point of impact, I’m not sure she made any level of meaningful difference. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/15 "2017-06-07T19:30:13Z")
I agree. She was just really, really unlucky. I want to know what the hell was up with the driver. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/16 "2017-06-07T19:50:40Z")
No way to tell what she was intending from that video. Whether or not she was trying to save the boy she probably did save his life. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/17 "2017-06-07T20:46:12Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I think she was thicker than the kid, and she was also closer to being dead-center on the nose of the car, so she probably did absorb more of the impact than the kid. > > Even if we disregard her greater front-to-back abdominal thickness, she surely absorbed at least half of the impact; without her being there, the kid would have absorbed the entire impact, and probably would have been much more severely injured. Sorry that doesn’t make any sense. So you’re saying that half of her squishy body thickness slowed the car from, say, 30mph to 15mph before hitting the kid? Given the pliable nature of a woman’s midsection and the kinetic energy of a couple tons of automobile I would be surprised if her body slowed it down by any measurable degree. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/18 "2017-06-07T21:02:14Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Sorry that doesn’t make any sense. So you’re saying that half of her squishy body thickness slowed the car from, say, 30mph to 15mph before hitting the kid? > > Given the pliable nature of a woman’s midsection and the kinetic energy of a couple tons of automobile I would be surprised if her body slowed it down by any measurable degree. Drop a book on one marshmallow, the marshmallow absorbs the entire force of impact. Drop a book on two marshmallows that are positioned side by side - now each marshmallow only has to absorb half of the book’s force of impact. Make one marshmallow a good bit taller than the other one - now that thick marshmallow will absorb more than half of the force of impact, and the smaller marshmallow will absorb less than half. The more meat you put between the bumper and the wall, the lower the pressure on any given portion of meat during the impact event. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/19 "2017-06-08T01:23:57Z")
Your example might be relevant if she got hit by a book. . ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/20 "2017-06-08T02:16:09Z")
I’m glad I’m not the only one to think that Jordan may just have been trying to get out of the way. She may have saved the boy’s life, but it does look unintentional. I’m not trying to demean her. It looks like she may not have even seen the boy. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/21 "2017-06-08T15:22:48Z")
The mechanics of the collision(s) are being discussed in greater detail/clarity [in this GQ thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=828086) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/22 "2017-06-08T15:56:05Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > She’s going up the street towards the vehicle, then turns perpendicularly into the car’s path, rather than away from it. The video link in the OP does not show this. From the video, the woman appears at the last second and the video does not show us that she saw the car heading to the boy. It certainly does not show the woman turning into the car’s path. I searched quickly for other videos showing the woman’s intent to save the boy but could not find any. Are there any? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334.md?page=2)