Today's good deed

Today started with more excitement than I had anticipated when I came across an accident as I cycled into work this morning. I was pushing my bike across the bridge at Canley station, when I saw two people on the floor where the ramp doubles back on itself. As I drew closer, it became obvious that one was a person on the floor covered in blood and the other was administering first aid while juggling a phone as she called for an ambulance.

Naturally, I stayed around to help out - first running to the station and to get the full address for the ambulance as well as asking for a clean cloth. There was a queue which made it awkward as I pushed in with my "Errr... Excuse me! Sorry... Um... Can you help please? There's been an accident..." I was worried about getting lynched there for a moment, I can tell you!

Then I was on hand holding duty and trying to keep the injured girl awake by insistently interrogating her.

After ten minutes of waiting and asking questions, with the station master hovering around me(the other woman had gone to flag down the ambulance) and it turned out the girl had borrowed the bicycle, which had no brakes! With no helmet either, she'd only discovered this when hurtling down the slope and into a bend on the bridge.

I think she was a very lucky girl. Had she been heading into traffic when those brakes failed... Or if the bridge wasn't covered in high bars with wire mesh to stop folks going over the railings and onto the tracks below... Let's just say that could have been very, very nasty.

Anyway, the ambulance finally showed up after what seemed like ages but was probably only fifteen minutes or so, the girl was bundled off and I carried on to work. I'm sure she'll be fine but oh my gosh... No brakes!