I was just leaving the professors' house at about 10:30 in the morning and had crossed the street to the opposite corner when, all of a sudden, I heard the squeal of brakes applied and the crunch of metal colliding behind me. A motorcycle and moped, each carrying two people, had crashed.
The woman was lying on the road underneath the moped, but appeared that she only suffered some torn clothing and shallow gashes to the skin; the driver of the moped appeared to be unscathed. The driver of the motorcycle was pinned between his motorcycle and the curb but was fine - it was apparent he was under the influence, though. Most concerning, however, was the elderly man lying awkwardly on his back along the curb, his head bleeding from two places and pooling on the edge of the sidewalk. He was motionless except for the slight movement of his breathing.
Everyone nearby in homes and the colmado quickly walked to the scene, and a woman called the ambulance after a brief moment of discussion of who would call the ambulance from the crowd standing around. In those moments we waited for the ambulance, we looked around for a rag or towel we could use to apply slight pressure to his bleeding head, but we couldn't find one. The man began to wake up from the fall and attempted to lift his head, with people nearby swarming him to keep his head resting and immobile. A few minutes later, he insisted on sitting and was helped up. We found out that he also was drunk.
The man attempted to grab his hat and put it back on his head but it was yanked away by a man standing next to him. The ambulance arrived some 15 minutes later for the man to be assisted up to stand, and he walked over to the ambulance. Fortunately, it appears no damage was done to his spinal cord nor enough trauma to the brain that posed an immediate threat to his life, but he did appear to have suffered a concussion.
He was rushed to the public hospital for emergency attention, and hopefully he could be treated there and not have to be referred to the trauma center in La Vega down the mountain. I knew motorcycle accidents were a common occurrence in Jarabacoa and the country as a whole, but to have witnessed one in the short amount of time I spend on the streets reinforced the need for improved motorcycle safety and law enforcement.
The woman was lying on the road underneath the moped, but appeared that she only suffered some torn clothing and shallow gashes to the skin; the driver of the moped appeared to be unscathed. The driver of the motorcycle was pinned between his motorcycle and the curb but was fine - it was apparent he was under the influence, though. Most concerning, however, was the elderly man lying awkwardly on his back along the curb, his head bleeding from two places and pooling on the edge of the sidewalk. He was motionless except for the slight movement of his breathing.
Everyone nearby in homes and the colmado quickly walked to the scene, and a woman called the ambulance after a brief moment of discussion of who would call the ambulance from the crowd standing around. In those moments we waited for the ambulance, we looked around for a rag or towel we could use to apply slight pressure to his bleeding head, but we couldn't find one. The man began to wake up from the fall and attempted to lift his head, with people nearby swarming him to keep his head resting and immobile. A few minutes later, he insisted on sitting and was helped up. We found out that he also was drunk.
The man attempted to grab his hat and put it back on his head but it was yanked away by a man standing next to him. The ambulance arrived some 15 minutes later for the man to be assisted up to stand, and he walked over to the ambulance. Fortunately, it appears no damage was done to his spinal cord nor enough trauma to the brain that posed an immediate threat to his life, but he did appear to have suffered a concussion.
He was rushed to the public hospital for emergency attention, and hopefully he could be treated there and not have to be referred to the trauma center in La Vega down the mountain. I knew motorcycle accidents were a common occurrence in Jarabacoa and the country as a whole, but to have witnessed one in the short amount of time I spend on the streets reinforced the need for improved motorcycle safety and law enforcement.