I was stuck in the rat race of commuters today, attempting to drive home on the freeways when I decided to take the side streets to get on the bridge. In the lane next to mine, was one car, and in front of me, was a pickup truck with a cab top. The light was red. I stepped on the brakes in order to slow down. I noticed that the pickup truck, who was about 3 car lengths ahead of, was not slowing down. I was thinking, what the??? The truck did not speed up, as do most drivers do when they intend to run a light. Instead, the car maintained it’s speed into the intersection. I thought, wow, that’s really dangerous. The driver ought to pay attention, or else….uh, bus, there was a bus crossing the green light from the street on my left! BAM! The bus hit the truck broadside. Immediately, the truck ricocheted off the bus and slammed into a car coming opposite the direction of the bus. Like with many accidents, it seemed to happen in slow motion. The car next to mine did not move, nor did mine.
I sat watching the people walk around inside the bus. I was assuming they were asking if everyone was alright. I was reminded that there are no seatbelts of safety restraints in buses. The airbag had been deployed in the car that was hit by the truck. People were on the cell phones right away. Cars tried to maneuver around the accident, some even THROUGH the accident scene. How insensitive, I thought. But the fact that I did not get out of my car to help, might not have been any more righteous. I thought they probably have enough people to take care of things, and that I probably shouldn’t get in the way. After sitting in my car for several minutes, I decided to leave the scene. I had failed the test of the Good Samaritan. Soon, paramedics, police, and fire fighters will be arriving to do one of the most heroic jobs in the world. Yet how often are these local heroes in our prayers? A friend once shared that he prays every time he hears a siren. The siren, signaling a time of need for people we might or might not know. I have adopted his little, but oh so important format, and have been praying every time I hear a siren. I have done this since 1996. I hope that you might be able to sacrifice a few seconds for a quick prayer the next time you hear a siren.