Don't let your arm hang out of the window.

[Jayce]

Comin home from work, car in front of me, black pickup truck in front of the car. Truck weaves a bit and starts to make me nervous. Just as I'm about to call 911 just for the sake of getting the guy checked out since he appeared to be a road hazard, he crossed the center line and had a nasty side-swipe accident with another car.

All traffic swerved to stop without getting hit. It was a big mess. Cars everywhere, in front yards, sideways in the road from avoiding to get hit, etc. There was a direct clearing in front of me, with the black truck driving off. Instinct kicked in, floored it, chased the guy. Cops nab him miles later, so I went back to the scene to talk with cops and paramedics there, turns out the guy that got hit had his arm out of the window.

Arm hanging out of window + nasty side swipe with other large vehicle = ouchie.

 

[Nubbleet]

Eww. That sounds painful D:

 

[Muffin Man]

wait, so your saying that having your arm out the window can cause an accident? or what i think happened, as in arm=squished?

 

[Trotter]

An arm caught between two vehicles moving in opposite directions at a high rate of speed would get a lot more than "squished". Probably more like crushed and shredded.

 

[lancec2c30]

I'm sure what was left of the guys arm is no use to him anymore.

 

[S0ULphIRE]

So wait, after the guy got hit he started speeding away...and you followed him? Dude, aren't you breaking the law yourself there? as in, speeding after the speeding car?

 

[synergy]

Crazy! You always have wild incidents in your life...haha! Did the guy lose his arm? I would think so... Was the driver of the black truck drunk?

 

[Kharn]

Owch, I am sorry you had to see that dude there is no way he will still have his arm after that. Mangled connective tissue, smashed bone nerve damage and sever blood loss. He might still die from the shock, there are more deaths relating from shock than most other complications.

 

[Jayce]

So wait, after the guy got hit he started speeding away...and you followed him? Dude, aren't you breaking the law yourself there? as in, speeding after the speeding car?

No, I don't believe so. I only chased this guy for a mile and a half or so till he stopped anyway, so it wasn't like some insane pursuit you see on TV or anything.

About 4 years ago I was in a similar situation. I saw a car swerve, hit 2 parked cars, and kept going. I was the only one that followed him, but he was going 80 in a 35. It was about 1 am so nobody was on the road at the time. I called 911 and gave them the plate number and such and they asked how fast I was going. I said 80. They said Sir if you are not comfortable going that speed please let the driver go since we have the plate number, but I assured them I was comfortable and I'd follow him till the cops caught up.

Sure enough, 2 cops eventually caught up and nabbed him. Turns out he was completely drunk. The officers were thankful I stuck with him till they could catch up.

I don't think doing what I did is illegal, even considering I was speeding. I wasn't chasing the guy as if I was a cop. I was simply following him pretty far back (but still in sight) and going quick enough to maintain visual so I could relay that to the 911 operator. I did however have to speed up pretty good this time in yesterday's situation since I was at a dead stop and he was flooring it to get away. But like I said, a mile later and he realized he wasn't getting off the hook.

I was just trying to be as helpful as I could be while still acknowledging my obvious limitations as a regular citizen and not a police officer.

About the crash - I did not see the guy who got hit or his arm. As I said right away I was out of there so I could get the plate number of the other car. I know it got a nasty bash and I'm sure it was broken, but it wasn't ripped off or anything based on what I heard through the CB radio as the cop questioned me, but it most definitely warranted an ambulance trip.

 

[james.wired]

Yeah what you did was definitely right and great on your part. Not a lot people give a crap those types of situations anymore...thumbs up.