Me: What the hell?
Turned my flip phone on and dialed 911 while trying to pay attention. The driver of the white car, at one point, put his car in reverse and I wondered if he was going to get aggressive. I gave the 911 operator a description of his car, a description of my car, my number then I was told to pull over once I said that I was following the person. However, when we got to a major street and a red light, the driver put his car in reverse again. The light changed and he didn't move and seconds later, his head tilted back.
By that time, other people got involved and this woman said that he was breathing rapidly. I had already made a second call to 911 to let them know that the driver had passed out. As a man started rubbing the unconscious man's chest, he told me to call back and let them know that an off-duty officer was on the scene and that it looked like an overdose. By this time, I spotted a cigarette lighter in the unconscious man's right hand.
The emergency personnel was able to bring the wayward driver back to consciousness with just oxygen. He had no memory of "hitting" me and, as it turned out, there was no damage to my car. One officer speculated that he got so close that there was some kind of noise generated from the close proximity...
Even though the experience knocked me off my game and looking at the city 911 call logs further knocked me off my game, I realize how lucky I was yesterday. A few minutes either way and the outcome could have been different. It was also not the best move to follow the car...
All of this reminds me of a blog post by Leo Babauta which reminded me of Sully which I was reluctant to watch but found myself moved when the first responders et al. went into action after the plane crashed. That scene was reassuring because it made me feel that there are trained professionals who are going to assist in a reasonable amount of time along with ordinary people who will come to people's aid.
The particular post by Babauta is called The Magic of Being Held By the World:
When you were born, you were incapable of living without the support of your family, who fed, clothed, sheltered you, changed your diapers, kept you alive every single day. They were supported by many others, and then you were educated by many more. You were raised by a village, no matter what your childhood was like...I also really like this Instagram post:
