Många människor stressar i trafiken. De kanske har bråttom till jobbet eller ska hämta på dagis. Men att stressa för mycket bakom ratten kan få ödesdigra konsekvenser.
Alla som har körkort vet hur farligt det är att vara ouppmärksam när man kör bil. Det kan ju ske en olycka. Men det kan också hända att man missar något viktigt som sker vid sidan av vägen.
Det var precis detta som hände på en trafikerad gata i Michigan, USA, förra året. Men som tur var fanns det en pojke där som var klok nog att agera.
16-year-old Max Greenwood was out driving his car in Oscealo Township, Michigan, when he saw something peculiar.
A car had come to a halt before a stop sign, and wasn’t moving despite being given the all-clear to go. According to Max, there seemed to be something wrong with one of the car’s wheels.
Other drivers were simply honking their horns and swinging past it; their drivers frustrated at having been stuck. Not one of them stopped to help.
But Max was different. He decided to see what was wrong.
“I didn’t want to just honk and be a dirt bag like that,” he told KREM News.
Posted by Mary Pudelko on Saturday, April 22, 2017
Instead, Max parked his car and jumped out to take a look. When other drivers saw what he was doing, two women decided to join the effort.
Confused driver
In the driver’s seat of the vehicle they found a man, dazed and seemingly confused. At first he said nothing, but, after a time, he gathered the strength and told Max that he had low blood sugar.
The aiders noticed his condition was deteriorating and so one of the women gave him a coke to help replace the sugars he had lost.
Max then called for an ambulance.
Minutes later, the ambulance had arrived and the man was immediately taken to hospital.
Posted by Mary Pudelko on Saturday, February 4, 2017
Of course, if Max hadn’t stopped to check, the situation could have ended in disaster. While other drivers were merely angered by the man, it was clear to Max that he needed to intervene.
“If I was in his situation, I would want someone to help me. …I stopped because I always try and make an effort to help people on the side of the road,” Max said, of the incident.
One proud mother
Since the event, Max’s mother has spoken about how proud she is of her son. She said that’s exactly how she hoped to raise him – to always consider others.
– “You always hope that your children will do the right thing, and when he did, I became very proud. Nowadays, and in his age, there are many children who do not think of anything but themselves. He got up and made a difference,” she said.
Without Max, the man could have died right there in his car. While others were content to beep their horns and drive on, Max distinguished himself as a hero of the moment.
I think we should share Max’s story far and wide – let’s remind others just how important it is to care for other humans!
