About two weeks ago I was driving to my office around 11am in the roads of a residential area.
My speed was about 30 or 40 I think and my car was the only one on the road.
I was going down and this man was about to cross the road. I honked to give him the message, “Stop, don’t cross the road my car is coming”. He still started crossing the road though to my surprise so I immediately pressed hard on the brake and my car stopped…but not before it hit him…He wasn’t in front of the car, he was on the side…so my car kind of touched him not so hard from the side and he fell on the ground on the right side of my car …and curled up into a foetal position on the road.
I knew the impact was not huge so I couldn’t have hurt him that bad but I didn’t know for sure. He was wearing a white shalwaar kameez. I didn’t see any blood on his clothes.
I opened the door of my car and looked at him, he looked back at me with a completely blank expression. I coudln’t tell if he was hurt or was in pain. I was like “Boht bari ghalti ho gai ji muj se maafi de deyn”. I didn’t really know what to do or what to say.
He got up and went limping and sat down on the footpath to the left of my car.
He was a pathan man of about 40-50 years and really skinny and shortish.
I asked him, “aap theek ho…? choT toh nai lagi hae?” He was silent and then he said, “baji koi baat nai mein theek hoon”. I asked him, “aap ka khoon toh nai nikal ra? aap ko haspataal toh nai jana?” He was like “baji tum jao ghalti meri bhee thee koi baat nai mein theek hoon”.
I didnt know what to do. I wanted to do something to help him out but I didn’t know what. I guess he wasn’t that injured.
I wanted to make sure he wasn’t fractured but he had said he was okay and beyond that I didn’t know how to ask him.
I was really amazed by his patience and big heartedness. I had just hit him with my car and the man did not even say one word of anger to me. Instead he was saying the fault was partly his.
He was just sitting there and I was parked next to him, it was kind of awkward. He kept saying, “baji tum jao,” … so I just drove away.
On the way this was on my mind and tears were coming to my eyes, I was thinking wow I could have killed someone today and I felt even worse coz that man didn’t even say anything to me.
I reached Kala pull and I was like I should atleast do something to help him out so I took a U-turn and went back to Sunset Boulevard, searched from him, but did not find him.
What could I do? I headed back to my office.
I came to the office and told my friends and my mom who was on msn as well. I wa so shaken I still couldn’t stop crying in my office at the whole incident. My mom said maybe he was short on hearing? I’m not sure.
He was extremely weak and looked like he was worried about something. Who knows…maybe he had some difficult circumstances in his household coz of which he was in tension and absent minded.
The guy who sits next to me in the office who is also my friend told me not to stress about it and said I might find that man again sometime.
I always look for him at that place but I have not been able to find him.
What can I do for him except send some prayers his way…
i THINK i was going on 30-40 as i said in my initial post..but maybe i was going higher..not sure…
im gona keep it in mind inshallah abt the pedestrians right of way in the future..
