You were on your way home after school. At a traffic junction, you saw an old woman. She looked impatient.
I was reading the newspaper when a picture on the obituary page caught my attention. It was a picture of an old lady and I thought she looked familiar. I realized it was the old woman whom I saw in a road accident two days ago.
Ring!!! Finally, it was dismissal time. I made my way out of the school, towards the traffic junction. When I reached the traffic junction, I saw an old lady. She looked impatient and she kept pressing the button on the traffic light. The next instance, she was walking across the road. I was shocked and at the same time, wondered if I should stop her.
My thoughts were interrupted by loud blaring of horns. I turned slightly to my right and my heart skipped a beat when I saw a car speeding towards her. The driver tried to apply his brakes as I could hear the screeching of tyres but it was too late. The old lady was hit and she was thrown a few metres away. She landed on the road and began writhing in pain before losing consciousness.
The driver stopped his car and came out to take a look. He gasped in horror when he saw the old lady lying on the road, bleeding profusely. He staggered to the side of the road and sat down, burying his face in his hands.
I knew I had to do something. I rummaged through my bag and took out my phone. I dialed ‘999’ for the police I told them briefly what had happened and the location of the accident. After I ended the call, I noticed that a curious crowd of onlookers had gathered. Many were shaking their heads in disbelief.
In no time, the efficient police officers and paramedics arrived. Police officers cordoned off the area while paramedics attended to the victim. The men in blue also questioned bystanders who might have witnessed the accident. I told them all that I had seen. The driver was also questioned.
The crowd fell silent upon hearing the paramedics pronouncing the old lady dead. The paramedics worked quickly to get the old lady onto the stretcher as they needed to send her to the mortuary. Police dispersed the crowd as the ambulance sped off.
I walked home with a heavy heart. If only the old lady had been more patient, this could have been avoided.
“A penny for your thoughts?” I was jolted out of my thoughts by a tap on my shoulder. It was my mother. 1 shared with her on what had happened.