# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/43 "2017-06-08T23:05:05Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > My husband went to war, but he didn’t do anything heroic there, and doesn’t consider himself a hero for the mere fact of having been there, but there are a lot of people who call him-- and _anyone in uniform_– a hero. If your husband went to war and was seriously injured in combat, I hope someone would slap me if I expressed a problem with him being called a hero. Especially if it was determined his body had (intentionally or not) prevented an innocent civilian from being killed. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/44 "2017-06-08T23:12:42Z")
I say let this woman have this tiny little good thing and just let it go. I mean, nobody loses anything by labeling her a hero. Either way, whether she intended to or not, a very good thing resulted from her actions. Who cares about the details? ---
**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 8, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/45 "2017-06-08T23:37:26Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I say let this woman have this tiny little good thing and just let it go. I mean, nobody loses anything by labeling her a hero. Either way, whether she intended to or not, a very good thing resulted from her actions. Who cares about the details? People who care about the details are people who have actually done something heroic in their lives. ---
**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 8, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/46 "2017-06-08T23:39:45Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > If your husband went to war and was seriously injured in combat, I hope someone would slap me if I expressed a problem with him being called a hero. Especially if it was determined his body had (intentionally or not) prevented an innocent civilian from being killed. But he didn’t. That’s the point. Yet, he’s called a hero, just like the guys who did do something heroic. All he did was stay in about as safe a place as he could be, and put radios in trucks. Go to chow three times a day, and play games on his laptop. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/47 "2017-06-08T23:42:41Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Yes, he was speaking generally; he was not making a comment about whether the woman did or did not do anything heroic, just that people are throwing the word around these days, and not reserving it for true gallantry. True gallantry? Like tying a rich lady’s ribbon to your hat? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/48 "2017-06-08T23:46:30Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > People who care about the details are people who have actually done something heroic in their lives. What difference does it make to them? How does this woman being labeled a hero impact other heros or their heroic actions? ---
**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 9, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/49 "2017-06-09T00:01:16Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > What difference does it make to them? How does this woman being labeled a hero impact other heros or their heroic actions? I don’t think it impacts other heroes or their heroic actions. But if we label an accidental saving of a life as heroic, we are watering down the meaning of the word. As a writer, that’s something I care about. ---
**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 9, 2017, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/50 "2017-06-09T00:05:22Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I don’t think it impacts other heroes or their heroic actions. > > But if we label an accidental saving of a life as heroic, we are watering down the meaning of the word. > > As a writer, that’s something I care about. And that’s my only point. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/51 "2017-06-09T00:06:43Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I don’t think it impacts other heroes or their heroic actions. > > But if we label an accidental saving of a life as heroic, we are watering down the meaning of the word. > > As a writer, that’s something I care about. Oh bullshit. This is one fucking incident. We aren’t talking about some epidemic of falsely labeling people as heros. I just would repeat myself, what does it really harm to let this woman have the hero label? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/52 "2017-06-09T00:08:14Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Bregruding someone being called a hero because of what you did or didn’t see in a half second video shot is cynicism at its worst… be great. > [@Ambivalid](#): > > I say let this woman have this tiny little good thing and just let it go… If she was a personal friend, I’d do that, sure. It would be churlish not to. But here, this poor woman’s feelings are really not at stake, and I think some of us are just more interested in discussing what _actually_ happened rather than some fuzzy-wuzzy feelgood version of what we might _like_ to have happened. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/53 "2017-06-09T00:10:24Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > If she was a personal friend, I’d do that, sure. It would be churlish not to. But here, this poor woman’s feelings are really not at stake, and I think some of us are just more interested in discussing what _actually_ happened rather than some fuzzy-wuzzy feelgood version of what we might _like_ to have happened. I have no issue at all discussing the true nature of what happened. I don’t think I’ve said otherwise. ---
**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 9, 2017, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/54 "2017-06-09T00:20:38Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, that’s what I see in that video. That she is walking initially to the left of our frame, looking like she’s going to cross the street there or something, but then ends up walking left/to the bottom of our frame. You can see a little better in the slow mo replay (look at 12 seconds0. Like I said, it doesn’t necessarily look intentional to me, but it happens so fast that I can’t tell and reserve judgment. But she completely changes direction from where she was walking into the path of the vehicle instead of away from it. It could very well have just been bad judgment or an instinctive reaction that sent her the wrong way. Well others have said that too but I just don’t see that. We might be seeing two different videos, or maybe the video you’re seeing starts sooner than the video I’m seeing. I thought maybe it’s an ‘iPad thing’ so I just watched it on my Windows laptop, and it’s the same thing I see on the iPad – the lady in the tan sweater shows up at the last second, never changes direction, and in fact does not grab the kid or push the kid out of the way (or even tries to). ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/55 "2017-06-09T00:21:05Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > But he didn’t. That’s the point. No, the point is that your husband and this lady have nothing in common then, since at a minimum her body may have saved a kid’s life. ---
**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 9, 2017, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/56 "2017-06-09T00:29:53Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Oh bullshit. This is one fucking incident. We aren’t talking about some epidemic of falsely labeling people as heros. I just would repeat myself, what does it really harm to let this woman have the hero label? There’s no way to tell from the video if she is a hero. If Jordan makes a statement saying something like, “Thank you all. I just couldn’t let that little boy die, that’s all.” I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that she’s a hero. But if Jordan makes a statement like, “Well thanks everyone, but I was really just trying to get out of the way.” _Then_ I’ll know she really _is_ a hero. ---
**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 9, 2017, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/57 "2017-06-09T00:36:59Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > There’s no way to tell from the video if she is a hero. > > If Jordan makes a statement saying something like, “Thank you all. I just couldn’t let that little boy die, that’s all.” I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that she’s a hero. > > But if Jordan makes a statement like, “Well thanks everyone, but I was really just trying to get out of the way.” _Then_ I’ll know she really _is_ a hero. Excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/58 "2017-06-09T00:38:22Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > There’s no way to tell from the video if she is a hero. > > If Jordan makes a statement saying something like, “Thank you all. I just couldn’t let that little boy die, that’s all.” I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that she’s a hero. > > But if Jordan makes a statement like, “Well thanks everyone, but I was really just trying to get out of the way.” _Then_ I’ll know she really _is_ a hero. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/59 "2017-06-09T00:39:29Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > If she was a personal friend, I’d do that, sure. It would be churlish not to. But here, this poor woman’s feelings are really not at stake Actually, her feelings do matter, if you’re empathetic enough to imagine her reading comments about the accident and seeing perfect strangers insist she did nothing of note. We can speculate all we want about what really happened from a silver of surveillance tape, but I see little point to it when we have no way of confirming anything. Don’t most people take human interest stories at face value unless there’s something majorly implausible or suspicious about them? ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/60 "2017-06-09T00:48:30Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > There’s no way to tell from the video if she is a hero. > > If Jordan makes a statement saying something like, “Thank you all. I just couldn’t let that little boy die, that’s all.” I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that she’s a hero. > > But if Jordan makes a statement like, “Well thanks everyone, but I was really just trying to get out of the way.” _Then_ I’ll know she really _is_ a hero. And if she says: “Thanks everyone. I can’t remember shit because my head collided that wall and all, but I’m happy no one died that day.” Hero or nah? ---
**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 9, 2017, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/61 "2017-06-09T01:23:36Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > And if she says: “Thanks everyone. I can’t remember shit because my head collided that wall and all, but I’m happy no one died that day.” Hero or nah? Then we’ll never know. Schroedinger’s cat. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334/62 "2017-06-09T01:40:46Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Well others have said that too but I just don’t see that. We might be seeing two different videos, or maybe the video you’re seeing starts sooner than the video I’m seeing. I thought maybe it’s an ‘iPad thing’ so I just watched it on my Windows laptop, and it’s the same thing I see on the iPad – the lady in the tan sweater shows up at the last second, never changes direction, and in fact does not grab the kid or push the kid out of the way (or even tries to). Are you looking at the video in the OP’s article? At 12 seconds, you can see her walking down the sidewalk until she disappears off screen. Then suddenly, at 15 secs, you see her moving towards the boy and into the path of the car. It’s obvious she changed direction at some point because she enters the frame two times, not one. This all aside, at a certain point you have to ask yourself how likely is it that _no_ witnesses saw what happened, leaving the cops with nothing to support the hero narrative except this tiny sliver of footage. I think its highly unlikely. So even if the footage is completely unclear to you, the circumstances of the event (crowded street) makes it unlikely the cops are peddling false stories about this woman. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-jumps-in-front-of-car-saves-child/788334.md?page=4)