Surveillance camera footage captured a truly wild scene as the lives of two people were saved from a car that was about to roll over them in Milwaukee over the weekend. The hero in all of this? A disused payphone pedestal. This is why it’s important to embrace tradition.
The incident starts with a two-car crash on July 20 when an old Honda Pilot turned into the path of an oncoming Chevy Volt. It caused the Volt to slide into the two people – a man and a woman – walking on a nearby sidewalk. The car actually rolled over them, but no one was seriously hurt, according to WISN 12 ABC. From the looks of the video, the disused payphone pedestal was able to move the rolling car in such a way that it didn’t crush the two pedestrians. It’s a wild bit of luck, for sure. Police told the outlet that four people were taken to the hospital, but they all had non-life-threatening injuries.
A witness named Nery, who didn’t want her last name used, says she was at a kid’s birthday party next door, and everyone came rushing out to help after hearing the crash.
“All of us were eating, and suddenly, I heard a sound like a brake. Then, we heard a hit, and all of us left the party. We went to see, and there was the car,” said Nery through a translator.
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“Yes, they are fine. They had a few scratches, scraped their knees and elbows. But they are fine, thank God,” said Nery through a translator.
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“The guy was having a hard time breathing. The girl was crying. She said her shoulder got messed up. She had scratches on her. They were sitting on the ground, crying,” witness Cha Song said.
Song wants a stoplight placed at the intersection to try to slow traffic, saying crashes there are all too common.
“I thought for sure they were killed. But I’m really happy that they’re doing good, they’re OK,” he said. “It was really scary for me.”
In the video, we’re able to see the woman – who was just rolled over – get up and go to the back of the car to help the man. He was still on the ground at the time. As that is happening, the passenger in the Volt can be seen crawling out of the back window of the car. The Volt’s driver was ticketed for reckless driving, driving with a suspended license and driving without insurance, according to WISN 12 ABC.
It’s impossible to say what would have been the result of this crash had that payphone pedestal not been there, but if I had to guess, things would have been a lot worse.