Will I stop for "Lady in distress" ??

[Chuck K.]

Recently a friend’s son (~21yo) stopped in a parking lot to help a woman in distress. Details are still coming in but as far as I know at this point he stopped to help the women who’s car that had “broken” down shortly after exiting his car he was jumped by 2 men beaten almost to death and robbed. I believe there was even a baby’s car seat in the back seat to add to this preset ambush. He was beaten to the point he was unrecognizable to friends and family. I have tried to relay this story to friends and family, it’s sad our society has come to this point. Possibly the fact that many peoples unemployment check have reached the end of their extensions plays a role in this type of attack..

I hope this is the correct area to post this. I really don’t know how I would handle the same situation. Stay in the truck and offer to call the police for the women? Get out and carefully watch your surroundings? I realize a lot of other factors come into play, time of day/night, location etc… I hate to think the safest thing to do now days is simply drive by..

Thoughts comments?

[USA1]

Disturbing.

I have a hard time just driving past someone who is in distress.
Especially a woman with a flat tire. If I think I can help, I usually try to.

This is a good example of why we should not let our guard down even when
faced with a seemingly nonthreatening encounter.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Hi Chuck and welcome to TexasCHLforum. Thanks for posting this, as it serves as a reminder that we must always be on guard. I've told my wife never stop to help someone, just call for help on her cell phone.

Like USA1, I have a hard time driving past a woman or girl with car trouble. I guess it's part of growing up in Texas at a time when no man would even think of leaving a woman on the side of the road. But times have changed and you never know if she's a potential victim or bait. Stopping now is a judgment call and I couldn't fault someone's decision. Stopping to render aid when you are unarmed is irresponsible in my view. Your first duty is to your family, not to a stranger. Am I saying don't help someone? No; I'm saying get a gun before you help someone.

Chas.

[Excaliber]

Recently a friend’s son (~21yo) stopped in a parking lot to help a woman in distress. Details are still coming in but as far as I know at this point he stopped to help the women who’s car that had “broken” down shortly after exiting his car he was jumped by 2 men beaten almost to death and robbed. I believe there was even a baby’s car seat in the back seat to add to this preset ambush. He was beaten to the point he was unrecognizable to friends and family. I have tried to relay this story to friends and family, it’s sad our society has come to this point. Possibly the fact that many peoples unemployment check have reached the end of their extensions plays a role in this type of attack..

I hope this is the correct area to post this. I really don’t know how I would handle the same situation. Stay in the truck and offer to call the police for the women? Get out and carefully watch your surroundings? I realize a lot of other factors come into play, time of day/night, location etc… I hate to think the safest thing to do now days is simply drive by..

Thoughts comments?

I agree with Charles that an unarmed person who stops and attempts to take direct action under these circumstances is putting himself and the interests of his family at very high risk. Even an armed person is taking a significant risk of being placed in a situation where he may have to use deadly force because he walked toward potential trouble instead of away from it.

Keep in mind that this is the era of the cell phone, and just about EVERYONE has at least one. Someone who is legitimately stranded has any number of help options readily available to him or her with just a phone call.

I think the most reasonable and charitable thing, for someone who is not either prepared to deal with a possible ambush or doesn't want to assume the risks involved in such an event and the aftermath, is to note the location and report it and your observations to the police jurisdiction that covers that area. They'll dispatch either a police unit or a highway assist truck to assess and help as required.

Although I won't say stopping to help is never a good way to go, in a situation that appears to be less than immediately threatening to life or health (e.g., young mother with infant stranded in 100 degree plus temperatures 25 miles from the nearest town), I wouldn't recommend playing knight on the white horse. IMHO, the risks are out of proportion to the severity of the situation being mitigated.

The post that started this thread is an illustrative case in point.

[tallmike]

If I am alone (no kids or wife in the car with me) I will stop to help. I would want someone to stop and help my family member if they were in that kind of situation.

However, if I have someone with me that I care for, I will not stop because of the immediate risk to them if something happens to me.

[Keith B]

I will usually slow down and evaluate the situation from a close but safe distance before stopping. Things like, are there hiding places for others to be lurking in? Can I see that there is no one else hiding down in the car, etc. Then if I feel it is semi-safe to approach I will pull up close, crack the window and ask if they have help on the way or need me to make a call for them (maybe their cell phone is dead.) This gives me additional time to scope out the area and the demeanor of the person and make a judgment of if I can safely get out to help them if needed. If they are alone but have help on the way, I may not get out of my car, but would offer to sit in my car a little ways back and wait until the wrecker or other legitimate help arrives. There is safety in numbers and this also allows be to make a quick get away if things start looking like they are going south.

[dubya]

It would depend on the situation. Would you think the drive-through is a risky environ (happened this week)?

Good Samaritan beaten with stiletto
Man partially blinded after attack
Updated: Wednesday, 14 Jul 2010, 10:47 AM EDT Published : Wednesday, 14 Jul 2010, 10:47 AM EDT
DAYTON, Ohio (NBC) - The family of a Good Samaritan who was partially blinded with a stiletto heel after attempting to help a woman in the middle of a domestic dispute is hoping a reward will help find his attackers.
Anthony Miliner was sitting in a car in the drive-through lane at a Dayton, Ohio McDonald's last month when the pair witnessed a fight erupt in the car ahead of them.
A woman in the car was being severely beaten.
Miliner got out to help, but a few moments later, seemingly out of nowhere, a group of women rushed in and attacked him.
One of the women took off her shoe and beat him with the high heel.
It shattered the bones around Miliner's eye and left him partially blinded.
"He's a caring and he's a giving person, and he was just trying to be helpful, that's just the person that he is," said Irene Traylor, Miliner's mother.
Miliner has had two surgeries, both efforts to return his vision.

Or, this one (Calif):

Good Samaritan Beaten On The Street, Speaks To KEY News
Story Created: Jun 10, 2010 at 11:12 AM PDT
Story Updated: Jun 10, 2010 at 12:18 PM PDT
A Good Samaritan who was severely beaten by a group of men talked with KEY News about the attack.
28-year old Jonathan Katz-Moses was walking his dog early Saturday morning, when he saw a group of men on the corner of Ortega Street and Bradbury Avenue harassing a couple.
Jonathan pulled out a flashlight and pointed it in their direction, hoping the crowd would run away, but they didn't. The suspects actually charged Katz and began to beat him up.
Jonathan suffered a broken eye socket, nose and hand from the attack. He also has multiple stitches and staples in his head.
Three people have been arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, police are still searching for several other suspects.

[Hoi Polloi]

I was driving along the highway one night when the car just suddenly dropped 10 mph and right after that dropped another 10. I was at the exit and took it, coasting into the gas station at the bottom of it. I had NO idea what to do, no cell phone, nothing. A kind older man who looked a little hardened to the world offered to let me use his phone. I remain grateful to this day. After I returned it, he came over and suggested I pop the hood to let the heat escape and then opened it for me . He then went back to his car and hung around, but not in a creepy way, until my help arrived.

Another time, a man threw himself in front of my car in broad daylight then tried to get me to take him home since he was "hurt." I hadn't seen him until he was sprawled across the roadway, papers flying. My cell was at home, dead. Some teens had seen the whole thing, apparently called the police, hung around until after they arrived, then came and alerted the LEOs to an apparent weapon he had removed from a pocket and hidden in the grass once detained. That was the first I'd known of their presence. I never spoke with them directly.

Another time, my car window was bashed out onto me. I floored it and once safely away, I pulled up to a random house where a person was outside sweeping and I asked to use their phone. They escorted me into their house, tended my wounds, and called the police themselves and insisted I stay and drink some water until the police arrived.

If I thought harder, I could probably come up with another half-a-dozen situations in which someone else came to my rescue when things were rough. I agree that there are risks and that it is wise to assess and limit risks to oneself, especially when the situation is already violent in nature. I just want to give you hope that there are a lot of instances of good Samaritans out there who save the day, don't get hurt, and are remembered fondly for many years to come, too.

For all of you good Samaritans who've helped a lady in distress, thank you!

[Oldgringo]

The details are fuzzy now but there was a man hating woman in Florida who would get men to stop and help her on the interstate. She then killed them dead. The law finally caught up with her and IIRC, she was the first woman to be executed in Florida in a long while.

Anybody else remember this "damsel in distress" story? it seems fairly recent but then...so does WW II.

[dubya]

The details are fuzzy now but there was a man hating woman in Florida who would get men to stop and help her on the interstate. She then killed them dead. The law finally caught up with her and IIRC, she was the first woman to be executed in Florida in a long while.

Anybody else remember this "damsel in distress" story? it seems fairly recent but then...so does WW II.

http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/dea ... nos805.htm

If I remember right one was an ex-cop.

Aileen Carol Wuornos
Executed October 9, 2002 by Lethal Injection in Florida
Between December 1989 and September 1990, the bodies of several men were found murdered along the highways of northern and central Florida, including Richard Mallory, Dick Humphreys, Troy Burress, David Spears, Walter Gino Antonio, Peter Siems, and Charles Carskaddon. Items belonging to Mallory and Antonio were pawned near Daytona Beach and the alias names used were traced to Wuornos through thumbprints left on the pawn shop cards. Wuornos confessed to the murder of all six men, claiming that she was picked up by the men when she was working as a highway prostitute, and shot them in self defense after they attempted to sexually assault her. Wuornos was convicted of the murder of Richard Mallory after a jury trial in Volusia County and was sentenced to death. At trial, the State was allowed to introduce similar crimes evidence about Wuornos' commission of several other murders. While on death row, it was discovered that Mallory had previously served time for Attempted Rape. Wuornos pleaded no contest to the murders of the other 5 men and was sentenced to death in each case.

[dubya]

And BTW, I'd be hard pressed to not help a woman I figgured was in need.

[Oldgringo]

And BTW, I'd be hard pressed to not help a woman I figgured was in need.

That's the one, thanks for the refresher. It's a good thing that you didn't come across Carol Wuornos in one of her times of need.

In this day and time, you just never know. Isn't that the principal reason that we have CHL's?

[Excaliber]

I was driving along the highway one night when the car just suddenly dropped 10 mph and right after that dropped another 10. I was at the exit and took it, coasting into the gas station at the bottom of it. I had NO idea what to do, no cell phone, nothing. A kind older man who looked a little hardened to the world offered to let me use his phone. I remain grateful to this day. After I returned it, he came over and suggested I pop the hood to let the heat escape and then opened it for me . He then went back to his car and hung around, but not in a creepy way, until my help arrived.

Another time, a man threw himself in front of my car in broad daylight then tried to get me to take him home since he was "hurt." I hadn't seen him until he was sprawled across the roadway, papers flying. My cell was at home, dead. Some teens had seen the whole thing, apparently called the police, hung around until after they arrived, then came and alerted the LEOs to an apparent weapon he had removed from a pocket and hidden in the grass once detained. That was the first I'd known of their presence. I never spoke with them directly.

Another time, my car window was bashed out onto me. I floored it and once safely away, I pulled up to a random house where a person was outside sweeping and I asked to use their phone. They escorted me into their house, tended my wounds, and called the police themselves and insisted I stay and drink some water until the police arrived.

If I thought harder, I could probably come up with another half-a-dozen situations in which someone else came to my rescue when things were rough. I agree that there are risks and that it is wise to assess and limit risks to oneself, especially when the situation is already violent in nature. I just want to give you hope that there are a lot of instances of good Samaritans out there who save the day, don't get hurt, and are remembered fondly for many years to come, too.

For all of you good Samaritans who've helped a lady in distress, thank you!

These were all good examples of well principled and even chivalrous behavior in spontaneous circumstances, but none of them involved circumstances where a potential ambush could have been set up and waiting for the Good Samaritan.

I wouldn't suggest that one should never help someone apparently in need, but I've done my share of it, and can tell you first hand that approaching a vehicle stopped along the highway in an apparent non emergency situation is a dicey proposition where the risks and benefits should be thought through carefully before one decides to act. What you find many times is very different than what you expected to find.

[mctowalot]

If you've got some time to kill (no pun intended) be sure to checkout the YouTube videos of Aileen Wuornos, especially the ones posted by folks who think she was a "Reptilian". (I guess some people don't have enough drama in their lives).

WARNING: part space-crocodile or not she is scary so it may not be suitable for younger viewers etc.

[Texas Size 11]

I was driving along the highway one night when the car just suddenly dropped 10 mph and right after that dropped another 10. I was at the exit and took it, coasting into the gas station at the bottom of it. I had NO idea what to do, no cell phone, nothing. A kind older man who looked a little hardened to the world offered to let me use his phone. I remain grateful to this day. After I returned it, he came over and suggested I pop the hood to let the heat escape and then opened it for me . He then went back to his car and hung around, but not in a creepy way, until my help arrived.

Another time, a man threw himself in front of my car in broad daylight then tried to get me to take him home since he was "hurt." I hadn't seen him until he was sprawled across the roadway, papers flying. My cell was at home, dead. Some teens had seen the whole thing, apparently called the police, hung around until after they arrived, then came and alerted the LEOs to an apparent weapon he had removed from a pocket and hidden in the grass once detained. That was the first I'd known of their presence. I never spoke with them directly.

Another time, my car window was bashed out onto me. I floored it and once safely away, I pulled up to a random house where a person was outside sweeping and I asked to use their phone. They escorted me into their house, tended my wounds, and called the police themselves and insisted I stay and drink some water until the police arrived.

If I thought harder, I could probably come up with another half-a-dozen situations in which someone else came to my rescue when things were rough. I agree that there are risks and that it is wise to assess and limit risks to oneself, especially when the situation is already violent in nature. I just want to give you hope that there are a lot of instances of good Samaritans out there who save the day, don't get hurt, and are remembered fondly for many years to come, too.

For all of you good Samaritans who've helped a lady in distress, thank you!

You have the "weird situation magnet" syndrome. One of my old bosses had that. He was damn near blown up in Vietnam, then had a near fatal boating accident, won the lottery (not the huge one, but a good one), and then got attacked by one of his security guards at work and was stabbed 44 times about the head, neck, and chest. He survived, but has to take a handful of pills everyday because of his messed up nerve endings.