Video shows bystanders ignoring hit-and-run victim - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

DeliveryValve · #1 06-05-2008, 07:11 PM

By STEPHEN SINGER,
Associated Press Writer
June 5, 2008
Yahoo.com

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 appear to 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 on Wednesday released the video in hopes of making an arrest in the accident that left Angel Arce Torres in critical condition.

However, Roberts and other city officials backtracked on Thursday. After initially saying he was unsure whether anyone called 911, he and other city officials appeared at a news conference in which they said that four people dialed 911 within a minute of the accident, and that Torres received medical attention shortly after that.

"This moved too quickly," said Calixto Torres, City Council president. "People were putting information out too quickly."

Roberts said his initial angry reaction was based on what he saw in the video. "The video was very graphic and sent a very bad message," the police chief said.

The hit-and-run took place in daylight last Friday at about 5:45 p.m. in a working-class neighborhood close to downtown in this city of 125,000.

In the video, Torres, a retired fork-lift operator, 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 veer across the center line, and Torres is struck by the Honda. Both cars then dart down a side street.

Nine 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.

"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' apparent 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."

DeliveryValve · #2 06-05-2008, 07:13 PM

This story sad.

I try to even stop to help out people dead cars on the road.. This hit and run seems like a no brainer to help.

Chad300tdt · #3 06-05-2008, 07:21 PM

That is a sad story, but it isn't uncommon.

Kitty Genovese Syndrome
Good Samaritan or Guilty Bystander?

DeliveryValve · #4 06-05-2008, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad300tdt

That is a sad story, but it isn't uncommon.

Kitty Genovese Syndrome
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showtdhread.php?t=221012

I've heard about this before, but never knew the name of it.

Hatterasguy · #5 06-05-2008, 09:54 PM

This has to be Hartford CT, yeah its a real dump. Another city I don't like.

No surprises.

Carleton Hughes · #6 06-05-2008, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

This has to be Hartford CT, yeah its a real dump. Another city I don't like.

No surprises.

So, gonna snap up some section 8's in East Haven are you?

BodhiBenz1987 · #7 06-06-2008, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeliveryValve

I've heard about this before, but never knew the name of it.

Chad beat me to it ... as a psychology minor I noticed this story right away and thought of that. Folks in the article are taking this incident as a sign that mankind has fallen from grace, but it's really a long-standing phenomenon.

Hard to believe, though ... you'd think someone would at least stop and scream for someone else to come help. The other thing that bothered me was the guy that said they left him there "like a dog." I would hope people wouldn't leave a dog dying on the side of the road, either.

SwampYankee · #8 06-06-2008, 07:52 AM

No surprise being that it was my neighbor (city not the victim) to the north.

The police chief has been borderline apoplectic in his interviews re: the lack of aid and compassion by standers by as well as other drivers.

One of the council-critters are trying to make a big deal this morning about the (4) 9-1-1 calls they received in the 1-2 minutes following the hit, as if that somehow makes the other reactions o.k. BFD! The poor guy is paralyzed and, not surprisingly, none of the witnesses saw a thing.

This was the follow-up to the 71 yo former Deputy Mayor, Nick Carbone, getting mugged and beaten by 3 adolescents who repeatedly kicked him in the face and head while he was on his morning walk at 9:15AM. He was a visible, popular and well-known fixture in the city where he lived and once worked. Now he faces brain surgery and remains in critical condition.

There was another incident this week where 5 city youths stole a minivan, were observed repeatedly swerving and driving recklessly by an officer and a high speed chase ensued. For safety reasons the police called off the chase and pulled off a side street. The driver continued on, later hitting a median and rolled the van leaving 1 kid dead (14-15?). The other occupants fled. No of course we have to hear about how it's the "cops" or "pigs" fault, the P's.O.S can't be at fault.

Throw in a couple fatal shootings and call it a week.

Ah yes, "Hartford-New England's Rising Star". Shooting Star maybe. And they wonder why we suburbanites aren't flocking to the city for its establishments and attractions or snatching up those new luxury apartments to become more hip and metro. Thankfully our police dept. has a reputation, warranted or not, so we don't get many thugs trickling south.

SwampYankee · #9 06-06-2008, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

Chad beat me to it ... as a psychology minor I noticed this story right away and thought of that. Folks in the article are taking this incident as a sign that mankind has fallen from grace, but it's really a long-standing phenomenon.

Hard to believe, though ... you'd think someone would at least stop and scream for someone else to come help. The other thing that bothered me was the guy that said they left him there "like a dog." I would hope people wouldn't leave a dog dying on the side of the road, either.

I know what you mean Bodhi, but I'm not willing to concede. There was not one person who came to his aid until the police arrived on the scene. I can see where some people might not be willing or able to face what happened for the aforementioned reason. But for no one to help, I don't know, I think it is a sign. I've seen enough people rush to stranger's aid to know that not everyone will turn a blind eye.

Also if there hadn't been a number of unsolved murders in the city with plenty of witnesses who also didn't see a thing, I'd be more willing to accept that as an isolated incident.

Chad300tdt · #10 06-06-2008, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

The police chief has been borderline apoplectic in his interviews re: the lack of aid and compassion by standers by as well as other drivers.

Wow ... I googled that one.

Guess I got my learnin' in for the day.

I always wonder if our world is really getting more cruel and callous or is the media just able to report more of the cr@p that's been happening all along.

I think every generation fears the same thing and worries about the decline of our morals and the safety of the world our children will be living in.

I believe technology HAS made it easier to commit crimes due to the ease of finding info and supplies, plus the media ends up spreading ideas that others most likely wouldn't have even considered. But still ... I don't think people are any more evil than they were 50 years ago, maybe just better informed.

Maybe there is a bit of "crowded rat syndrome" as well. Just my 2¢

raymr · #11 06-06-2008, 08:33 AM

It depends on the situation. If you were there, would you put youself in danger helping him and also getting struck by a speeder? Also people are told not to move an injured person until the injuries are assessed by a qualified medic. There could be broken bones and spinal damage, and of course law suits. I'd imagine with the preponderance of cell phones, people either call 911 or presume that a call was being made, which is what happened.

LUVMBDiesels · #12 06-06-2008, 08:37 AM

Hey at least nobody robbed him while he was lying there...

I especially like the drivers who had to swerve around the body in the street. Gee, why bother going around the guy... they should just run over him like a dog or cat.

Where were the slip and fall lawyers (ambulance chasers)? The noise of him getting hit should have had a dozen of them crawing out of their lairs.

I always try to stop and help people in distress. You never know what will come of it -- I met a gf after pushing her stalled car off the approach to the GW Bridge. Of course now you have to keep in the back of you mind that the person on the side of the road could
a) be a crazy serial killer
b) be fronting for a crazy serial killer or carjacking gang
c) will think YOU are a crazy serial killer and douse you with pepper spray.

I am glad I moved South where people will still help you out.

SwampYankee · #13 06-06-2008, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raymr

It depends on the situation. If you were there, would you put youself in danger helping him and also getting struck by a speeder? Also people are told not to move an injured person until the injuries are assessed by a qualified medic. There could be broken bones and spinal damage, and of course law suits. I'd imagine with the preponderance of cell phones, people either call 911 or presume that a call was being made, which is what happened.

Yup, I have and I've seen others do the same. If nothing else park your car behind him so that no other idiots hit him. Maybe stand by him and talk to him while he's laying there. I wouldn't expect anyone to come rushing over and start dressing wounds and giving him an exam. You don't even need to touch the guy, especially given the legal implications these days.

What gets me is that outside of the one lady who quickly walked over to him and the Explorer that briefly pulls to the side, the vast majority just continued on their way as if nothing happened. I guarantee you that if that happens in the suburbs in a busy town center the reaction would be drastically different.

The guy's son has been on tv and in the paper pleading for any witnesses to come forward. So far, nothing. Hopefully someone has a conscience.

aklim · #14 06-06-2008, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

The other thing that bothered me was the guy that said they left him there "like a dog." I would hope people wouldn't leave a dog dying on the side of the road, either.

I'd be more inclined to help a dog from the standpoint that I don't know where they guy has been, what diseases he might have, etc, etc.