Do we simply drive off?
Not knowing if a father, mother or child has been killed or maimed or, even worse, left to die until hopefully being discovered by passersby must surely weigh heavily on one's conscience?
As a journalist one gets to see and experience many things, places and sights that most people do not. A remark commonly heard by journalists, especially at scenes of heartbreak and tragedy, is “I suppose you get used to it after a while.”
This may be true to a certain degree, but there is one thing I personally cannot get used to or understand and that is how anybody can make peace with his or her conscience after knocking a pedestrian down and simply driving off.
Only this week, another incident happened in Ermelo where a pedestrian was run down and injured and the driver of the vehicle failed to stop.
Thankfully, the victim survived the incident and only sustained cuts and bruises.
Irrespective of who the unfortunate pedestrian is, surely we all should obey the traffic laws that compel drivers of motor vehicles to stop at the scene after being involved in an accident?
To simply drive off and leave the victim lying in the roadway or in a field with the hope that “somebody” will attend to him or her is, I’m sure, beyond most people’s comprehension.
Not knowing if a father, mother or child has been killed or maimed or, even worse, left to die until hopefully being discovered by passersby must surely weigh heavily on one’s conscience?
It begs the question: can a life mean so little?
The trouble and punishment that one brings upon oneself after being caught out at a later stage is surely greater than if the guilty party had owned up in the first place.
So let’s hope this latest incident will be sorted out soon.
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