Samaritan or Killer?
It’s possible to be a Good Samaritan.
But is it possible to be a not-good-enough Samaritan?
A Canadian woman was recently confronted with that question when two killers accused her of not doing enough to save a man they had beaten and left for dead.
The woman was driving her car when she saw the two men viciously kicking and stomping a third man in the street. The assailants then fled, leaving their victim—who they had robbed—lying unconscious in the road. The woman called 911. But before police or paramedics arrived, an unsuspecting driver ran over the victim. He died.
The woman testified in court, and the two men were convicted of manslaughter. The woman was hailed as a Good Samaritan.
But when the killers returned to court for a sentencing hearing, they stunned the Samaritan by claiming she was responsible for the victim’s death. Lawyers for the two men argued that the woman had a responsibility to get out of her car and pull the victim to safety. Had she done so, the lawyers insisted, the victim wouldn’t have died.
The Samaritan had previously testified that she was too scared to leave her car, even after the assailants fled. “You always want to try and help a person as much as possible,” she said. “But you also have to worry about what could happen to you.”
A judge considered and then rejected the argument, telling the lawyers they could raise the issue on appeal for the two men.
“The question is, should they be held responsible?” the men’s lawyers ask. “And we say no.”
The Samaritan was reflective: “In a situation like this, you always think back and wonder whether you could have done something different.”
Could she?
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Ms.
I don’t see how she could be deemed the “cause” of his death. She did not leave him on the road initially; she did not beat and rob him. If I find a filthy derelict lying on the sidewalk and he needs CPR, am I guilty of his death if I can’t bring myself to give him mouth-to- mouth? Or did the heart attack kill him? When will all this insanity end? We have become a nation of finger-pointers, happy to blame anyone but ourselves. And whom do I blame for this? The lawyers! These guys should have been laughed out of court.
Margaret A. | 10 months, 3 weeks ago
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low thinking?
She could have pulled him out of the way. Half of my junior year in high school, I was in criminal justice. At one point, we had to pull a 7-foot log 100 feet. If she couldn’t pull a man weighing at least 150 pounds, at most 300, then she couldn’t. But I understand that she was scared. I would be too in her position. Would I be so scared as to leave him lying in the street? No. But there are too many people who just drive by something like that happening and don’t even call 9-1-1. I think she was right and did well. There are too many times when the assaulter comes back to finish what they started.
jen snyder | 9 months, 2 weeks ago
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The Good Samaritan
No wonder that there are not so many Good Samaritans left. When you have to be scared for your own life being safe and that if someone is going to sue you ‘cause you didn’t do enough. I sure have made me think not twice but 10 times before I stop and go help someone in need. Even there is a Law against suing a Good Samaritan for their help; it still does not stop them suing you in civil court nor as a defense for their own action like on this case.
Nina S | 9 months, 2 weeks ago
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She was right
I’m curious as to why people are saying she should have pulled the victim off the road. One of the first things you learn in a first aid class is that you never move someone who could possibly have a head or spine injury. To do so could worsen the situation. I’m also curious about how a person driving down a street would not be able to see someone lying in the road BEFORE they ran over them. Were they speeding? Was it dark and they had no headlights on? I don’t believe the woman should be considered as someone who did not do enough to help, or somehow not “astute” enough because she did not block traffic. She witnessed a horrible crime called 911 and stayed at the scene. What else was she supposed to do? How can she be judged as not doing all she could in a situation most people have not been in? Would I have done anything differently? I couldn’t say. How can anyone else?
Candace Bravo | 8 months, 2 weeks ago
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ms
I’m sure she was in shock, confused and scared, she did the best she could. what if she moved the man and then that was reason he died, then she would be in court for murder and then these two men ? men would get away with the crime. some injuries require a medical team and proper equiptment to move a person who has trauma. and if she parked her car in front of him and someone rear ended her it would end up being her fault.
Linda Es | 6 months, 4 weeks ago
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Paula
Yes,she could have pulled the victim out of the way.But,she called 911.The person that ran over the man was at fault,but the real killers are the two men that beat him up,not the woman
Pauletta Lechman | 5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Of course she could have
of course she could have done more to help. But his death is not her responsiblitiy. I they hadn’t beated him he would have never been in that situation. I think that she did the right thing even when she left because she didnt know the state of mind of the bad guys. She had to think about her own well being as well. Sometimes even when you do act it still isnt enough for some.
crystal marie careuthers | 3 months, 4 weeks ago
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Personal Responsibility
The attackers want to blame someone else because they don’t want to be held accountable for their own actions. If we go on attacking our Good Samaritans people will crawl in a hole and never stand up for one another. Hind sight is always 20/20, but I for one want to Thank the woman for making the call and sticking around. Throw the book at those who left the victim in the street to die.
Kimberlee | 2 months, 3 weeks ago
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when doing good was doing too much
i doubt she could pull a grown man out of traffic (really, i doubt it) it was just the deceased fate. who knows if that trucker on her blind side smashes into her as she shields the dying man from oncoming cars and ends up dead too.
jrp | 1 month, 3 weeks ago
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the woman did not do it
i think the woman did not do this horriable thing the two men did it because in the article it says tha tthe woman was driving when she saw two men kicking and stomping the poor man in third street. the men fled to leave the the poor man in the street and he was barely breathing and the woman called 911. and they went too court and the two men DID do this to the poor man he they need to be jail for allof their live they need to be in separt cells..
madelyn deanna bunn | 1 month, 3 weeks ago
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