Not all of us have been in an emergency or accident before.
But most of us have a firm opinion of what we think we would do if we ever were.
Sometimes judging other people on their decision is easier than empathizing with them, pointed out the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
Redditor aita-notanambulance was criticized by his girlfriend after he recounted to her what he did when he discovered an injured teenager in a parking garage.
After hearing his girlfriend’s concerns, the Original Poster (OP) wondered if he made the wrong choices.
He asked the sub:
“AITA for not giving a kid (who I don’t know) a ride to the hospital after he broke leg?”
The OP recently witnessed an accident.
“I (28 [male]) was at my local mall doing shopping, and when I finished up, I went out to my car. I parked in an above-ground parking building.”
“When I got to my car, I noted there was a bunch of kids (I’d say 14-16, rough guess since I didn’t bother asking).”
“They were skateboarding, just doing what kids do really.”
“Then suddenly, I heard a blood-curdling scream and I looked over and I saw a kid on the ground holding his leg.”
“So I walked over to see if everything was okay. To say the least, everything was not okay.”
The teens demanded the OP drive the injured one to the hospital.
“The kid broke his leg in a bad way – not sure how as I wasn’t really paying them any attention – but was for sure broken.”
“Everyone was freaking out, and I said I’ll call the ambulance.”
“This just made the kid cry harder, saying something along the lines like ‘My parents are going to kill me.'”
“His friends were saying I should just give him a ride to the hospital as it was only 3 blocks away.”
“I thought for a moment and opted to still call for an ambulance.”
“I called the ambulance – they showed up like 5 minutes later.”
“The whole time everyone was trying to convince me to just drive him, and I stayed firm of nope – not gonna happen, the ambulance is on the way.”
The OP stayed on the scene to help.
“After the kid was put into the ambulance, I gave my statement to the police (police show up to calls with ambulances to make sure they have all the needed info).”
“The kids were all still complaining that I could have just given him a ride to the hospital instead of making his parents ‘go into debt’ – man, I think they watch too much American TV.”
“We’re in Canada – no one goes into debt for an ambulance ride here.”
“The last time I had to get an ambulance to the hospital, It cost me like $50 (thank you Canadian health care).”
The OP’s girlfriend didn’t agree with what he did.
“Anyways, later when I came home – I was telling my girlfriend about what went down. and she called me an a**hole too.”
“She said, ‘You should have just done the right thing, the kid was hurt and you have a car.'”
“I said back, ‘And ambulances are a thing, and I’m a total stranger to this kid, and like what would’ve happened if the kid somehow got more hurt while in my car – not tryna catch a case.'”
“I wanted some outside perspective, AITA for not giving the kid a ride to the hospital?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the **hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some said the OP could have injured the teen more if he moved him.
“It’s been a long time since I took first aid, but yup! Make sure they’re not in danger- get them out of the burning building, out of the water where they could drown, etc. but otherwise, leave them be and wait for the professionals!”
“Hold their hand/head, get them some water, but don’t move them!” – knitmama77
“No. You DID do everything in your power to help. Had you picked him up, you could have caused a more serious problem. Had you hit a bump, that could have caused something even more serious. Not to mention he can lie and say you maybe did worse to him.”
“You did the right thing and your girlfriend is dead wrong here. Maybe both of you should just drop it at this point?” – AllOutofFs
“Honestly, the other kids and OP’s GF might not be TA, but they sure are stupid.”
“OP moving the kid with a broken leg and transporting him in a car not designed for securing injured people could have made things so much worse.”
“OP did exactly the right thing. He notified professionals and let them handle it properly.”
“If they were in the middle of the wilderness and OP’s car was the only option within 50 miles, then they might have had a point, but that’s clearly not the situation here.” – sk9592
Others defended the OP for waiting with the teen for the ambulance.
“What? You stayed with the kids, called for an ambulance, and made sure he was properly taken care of before you left. You were a Good Samaritan.” – PleaseCoffeeMe
“It wasn’t even deliberate inaction. OP called an ambulance and stuck around until it showed up. That was 100% the right thing to do.” – Ok-Statistician233
“You are not responsible for this kid and have no medical knowledge. You literally did the most responsible thing of calling professionals and making sure he was looked after.”
“Besides, if anything happened while that kid was in your care, you bet your a** the family would go after you for blood. This is not about doing a nice thing, this is about the right thing for everyone including yourself. NTA. Girlfriend needs to shut her mouth and stop living in La la land.” – SnooSuggestions2288
Some questioned the OP’s girlfriend’s reasoning.
“You got the kid medical assistance in 5 minutes. It would have taken you longer than that to get him to the ER. He started receiving medical the minute the ambulance arrived. Short of healing his bones with your mind, you did everything you could and probably saved that kid for further injuries cause it sounds like his friends wouldn’t have called an ambulance and would have done something stupid.”
“Your girlfriend has very poor decision skills if she thinks you moving and driving a seriously injured minor is the better choice.” – itscoldouttherebrrr
“If the kid went into shock, or if you’d gotten into a crash on the way, or any number of other worst-case scenarios. This is not the time to listen to a kid’s preferences, you made an adult judgment. The kid needed actual medical professionals, no matter what he thought. You did exactly the right thing.”
“As for your gf (girlfriend), her judgement is way off. Not a lot of common sense from her.” – Zhoenish
“NAH – you did the right thing by calling the ambulance as they are prepared for cases like this, unless you have like a stretched in the back of your car? you’re a good guy for even checking up on the kids instead of just driving away.”
“I won’t blame the kids, as they were probably just freaking out and kids can be pretty irrational – especially when one of the friends is hurt.”
“Your girlfriend is kinda TA since she’s now blaming you saying you should have done the right thing – when you by far did the right thing.” – ttoastii81
Though the OP’s girlfriend was convinced the OP could have done a better job of providing for the injured teenager, the subReddit had other ideas.
On the contrary, they overwhelmingly agreed not only that the OP could have injured the teen more by transporting him to the hospital, but he also went the extra mile already by calling the ambulance and waiting around for them to arrive.