The Great Wall of China9. The First Responders

I was still thinking about what to do with Amy when I crawled out of what used to be the windshield and looked around. We were at the opposite end of the intersection, on one of the relatively smaller streets. I could see the back of a big rig cargo truck parked around the corner. I do not remember ever seeing that truck before, but something told me it might have been involved. It was upright and appeared undamaged, but I could not see the front from where I was standing. The scooter driver was nowhere. I could not even see his scooter. Traffic resumed through the intersection. I want to assume that people were driving around him rather than over him, but I could only see cars moving in every direction.

Even closer to us, there were no bystanders. People slowed down to have a look or take a picture with their phone, but not a single person stopped to help. I'm sorry to say that I did not expect anyone to offer any assistance. That is simply not the Chinese way. Americans look down on most of the world as lower life forms, but in an accident or disaster, we rush toward the people in distress, not away from them. Amy and I are probably on a few Facebook pages. “Look at this terrible accident. I watched and then just walked away like an asshole. Here's what I had for lunch.”

Based on our position and the lower traffic volume on the smaller street, I left Amy in the car. For some reason, I turned on the car's hazard lights. That would make sense in some countries, but in China, people mostly use their hazard lights when double parked. As far as the car being an obstruction, that should have been obvious. It was lying on its side. But obvious is relative. A few years ago, I saw a car honking at the car in front of it to move out of the way. The engine of the car in front was on fire.

When a police car eventually approached, I waved to get his attention. That might sound stupid. A broken and battered car was resting on its side. Any police should notice that right away. But just like every car and pedestrian that passed the accident, you never know if the police might think it is none of their business and keep moving. When the officer got out of his car, the look on his face was pure astonishment. I don't know if it was his first day on the job, but he was clearly out of his league. When I told him that Amy was injured, he looked into the car and stared at her. His mouth was open the entire time, but I don't remember him ever saying a word.