...or a racoon... 
people are just plain selfish and in too much of a hurry to care.
Posted on 06/05/2008 1:05:45 PM PDT by TexasNative2000
HARTFORD, Conn. - A 78-year-old man is tossed like a rag doll by a hit-and-run driver and lies motionless on a busy city street as car after car goes by. Pedestrians gawk but do nothing. One driver stops briefly but then pulls back into traffic. A man on a scooter slowly circles the victim before zipping away.
The chilling scene — captured on video by a streetlight surveillance camera — has touched off a round of soul-searching in Hartford, with the capital city's biggest newspaper blaring "SO INHUMANE" on the front page and the police chief lamenting: "We no longer have a moral compass."
"We have no regard for each other," said Chief Daryl Roberts, who released the video this week in hopes of making an arrest in the daylight accident last Friday that left Angel Arce Torres in critical condition.
The hit-and-run took place about 5:45 p.m. in a working-class neighborhood close to downtown in this city of 125,000.
In the video, Torres walks in the two-way street just blocks from the state Capitol after buying milk at a grocery. A tan Toyota and a dark Honda that is apparently chasing it cross the center line, and Torres is struck by the Honda. Both cars then dart down a side street.
Several cars pass Torres as a few people stare from the sidewalk. Some approach Torres, but most stay put until a police cruiser responding to an unrelated call arrives on the scene after about a minute and a half.
The police chief told The Hartford Courant that he was unsure whether anyone called 911.
"Like a dog they left him there," said a disgusted Jose Cordero, 37, who was with friends Thursday not far from where Torres was struck. Robert Luna, who works at a store nearby, said: "Nobody did nothing."
One witness, Bryant Hayre, told the Courant he didn't feel comfortable helping Torres, who he said was bleeding and conscious.
The accident — and bystanders' callousness — dominated morning radio talk shows.
"It was one of the most despicable things I've seen by one human being to another," the Rev. Henry Brown, a community activist, said in an interview. "I don't understand the mind-set anymore. It's kind of mind-boggling. We're supposed to help each other. You see somebody fall, you want to offer a helping hand."
The victim's son, Angel Arce, begged the public for help in finding the driver. "My father is fighting for his life," he said.
The hit-and-run is the second violent crime to shock Hartford this week. On Monday, former Deputy Mayor Nicholas Carbone, 71, was beaten and robbed while walking to breakfast. He remains hospitalized and faces brain surgery.
"There was a time they would have helped that man across the street. Now they mug and assault him," police chief said. "Anything goes."
Councilman Matthew Ritter said police can do only so much.
"The citizens are the city," he said. "Everybody has a part to play. Call 911 and reach out."
It was like watching the last Seinfeld episode.
...or a racoon...
people are just plain selfish and in too much of a hurry to care.
Looks like one person is taking a cell phone picture of the poor guy.
The police here in Austin have been cracking down on jaywalkers. (up to $500 fine)
This is one of the reasons why.
“Looks like one person is taking a cell phone picture of the poor guy.”
I noticed that too. Unreal..
Connecticut has a Good Samaritan Law.
“WHAT IN THE HELL HAVE WE BECOME†This is the result of the “ Me Now†State, I see it everyday. I am a super annuated citizen, so I remember when a person in distress was helped by everyone. Now days it is not that way. The people now days ( especially the 18 to 40 year olds†have no respect or sense of humanity for anyone. I see it every day, young people pushing and shoving their way, especially bad is the way they drive, no respect for anyone but them selves.I live in Las Vegas, and you have to be continually on the watch for these young people who have been raised up to think of no one but themselves. Little Princess, Yeah Right.
The problem is not with Good Samaritan laws or lack thereof. Blue Turtle at 18 has it right. The area is very bad. Anyone stopping would be at good risk of getting the Reginald Denny treatment. I’d like to think I’d stop anyway but without being armed I’m not sure...
Their hearts have become hardened by 8 years of Bush Cheney.........
The camera got a very clear shot of the two cars who hit the man, and I assume the authorities will be able to zoom in on the license plate numbers. Why on earth did those two cars cross the centerline? When they hit him they were on the wrong side of the road.
Somebody is busted in a major way, and not just the poor man who was hit.
Is there a good area in Hartford?
Well, I’m pretty sure an EMT or paramedic could do a hell of a lot more than I ever could. Same with a fire brigade.
“The world has gone to hell.”
We need a Saviour! Any candidates on the horizon? Or, do we embrace the One who already came to save us? He’s coming back ya know!!
It’s a known psychological phenomenon. I can’t remember the name of it, comes from a rape decades ago in front of an apartment building where nobody did anything.
Kitty Genovese
Some 911 centers offer 'pre-arrival' instructions while the aid car is enroute.
About a year ago lady ran a stop sign in front of me- I managed to hit the brakes in time, but the guy coming the other way t-boned her at about 30mph. I pulled to a stop, and was out of the truck and calling 911 within a few seconds of the accident.
Here's the interesting part of this story- this happened at a seemingly deserted intersection, with no other traffice, and no people in sight. Within a minute, there must have been twenty people there! At least one of the men who appeared had obvious experience in dealing with such sitations, and helped keep the injured lady calm until the ambulance arrived (about five minutes!). It was quite an amazing experience.
Something was going on with those two cars. Maybe road rage involved with one chasing the other.
Appears their speed caused them to go into the other lane to avoid cars in front of them.
Just a guess from an old ex-auto accident investigator for a few insurance companies.
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