"State a moral case to a ploughman
and a professor. The former will
decide it as well, and often better than
the latter, because he has not been led
astray by artificial rules.”
-- Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826: “Letter to Peter Carr, 10 August 1787”
My intent is to use what amounts to a small sampling of opinions (via the interactive comment thread on a small dot.com newspaper) as a way of showing just how contingent and subjective our moral values are.
Why this? Please consider the short posts contained herein as evidence of my connection to this otherwise sad and obscure local story.
What follows then is a blog surveying a variety of perspectives on something that happened to me two nights ago in the mundane heat of a 6 o’clock rush hour.
STAFF
By: Amalie Nash
AnnArbor.com News Director
Updated: Man dies after jumping from overpass onto M-14 in Ann Arbor, police say
Topics: Ann Arbor West, News
43 Comments. Comment Now
Posted: Apr 22, 2010 at 9:05 AM [Apr 22, 2010]
A 31-year-old man died Wednesday evening after police say he jumped off an overpass from Newport Road onto M-14 in Ann Arbor.
The man walked from his parents' home to the expressway, where witnesses told police they saw him jump over the the rail onto the expressway at about 6 p.m., Ann Arbor Detective Sgt. Brian Jatczak said.
The railing there is about a 4-foot concrete barrier, Jatczak said.
A car stopped and blocked traffic around the man's body on eastbound M-14, Jatczak said. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The man's name was not released today. Jatczak said he had been living with his parents and did not have a history of suicide attempts. No note was found.
Tags: Ann Arbor police, M-14, Michigan State Police
DISCUSSION THREAD (Pasted as written)
“My comments in the earlier story about a crash on M-14 at Newport... this person jumped/fell from the overpass estimated to be about 30 feet and landed headfirst in the lanes of travel. They were not struck by a vehicle, but still sustained massive injuries and bloodloss from the fall. They left the scene alive but in very critical condition and personally I would be surprised if they survive.”
“AA.com please follow up on this story; not necessarily the gory details but simply some background. There were scores of kids playing at Wines, and coming to Wines for practices, who witnessed something. Some heard it happen as the baseball / soccer field is just over the fence. Others stopped to look over the bridge on their way and got an eyeful. It would be helpful to be able to talk to them truthfully about the background of this tragic event.”
“I came up on this scene driving up Newport a few moments after it happened. The most striking thing was that cars on M-14 were just driving around the victim, until one driver blocked traffic in front of the body.”
“what is the protocol when someone jumps off an overpass in front of your vehicle? is it considered disrespectful to carefully drive around the scene? do we all stop until all lanes of travel are clear? please advise.”
“I was the guy that stopped and put my car in front of him and directed traffic. I couldn't understand why people were going around him as if it was an inconvenience to their day. First I want to say "Thank You" to the lady in the Astro van who was the nurse heading west-bound who stopped and attended to the young man. Also I want to thank the young man in the Dodge truck who helped me block the other lane with his truck. Too the rest of you who went around the scene and did not bother to help, look in the mirror and ask yourself what you REALLY should have done. You should be ashamed.”
“why should the people who did not stop feel ashamed? why has having stopped left you feeling empowered?”
“Thanks for your willingness to stop and do what you could.
In cases where someone is in need of help it can be hard to know what to do. If someone can offer help they certainly should. In cases where they would just end up being gawkers or in the way, it might be best to respectfully continue on. Some that went on through no doubt felt inconvenienced others probably did not know what to do and did not know what was going on until it was too late. Hopefully this family can find peace at some point.”
“Re: "The protocol when someone jumps off of an overpass." Yesterday, as I was entering onto eastbound M14 at the Maple rotary I saw cars veering to each side of the road and a cloud of dust as a semi careened into the grass. It was at a significantly reduced speed, then, 5 - 10 mph that I slowly rolled up to a sight that made me hope against hope that I wasn't seeing what I thought I was. It was a young man's body lying fully prone, arms beneath him as in a yoga position, exactly horizontal to the white lines at the middle, and sheet white. My mind raced, trying to bring some context to something horribly foreign to my world. A man was on a cell standing at the side of the road. It had just happened. In shock and disbelief, I slowly rolled around him and continued on to my girlfriend's daughter's lacrosse game in Plymouth. What did I think? Two things: 1) My heart sickened at imagining what sad circumstances might have led him to this; 2) here was a fit young man my son's age that made a decision none of us can fathom. As for driving around him, were I a doctor I would have stopped. As it was, I made an instant decision that my stopping would only add to the chaos. Best - Randy Tessier”
“Thanks to fxdwgi and the others for stopping and helping. You'd be amazed at the kinds of accidents that people don't stop for ... I recall one early morning on EB M-14 to SB US-23 where there was a crash and the disabled cars were scattered across the four lanes and the shoulder at the split; before traffic was controlled, people were threading that needle at nearly full speed, not bothering to slow down or stop, just swerving left and right and continuing on... unbelievable. This is why the fire department usually blocks several or even all lanes often even at the protest of the police.”
“On one hand I can sometimes understand someone not stopping; in their head, "I know nothing about first aid, I faint at the sight of blood, there's already someone there helping, my kids are in the car and I don't want them to see this..." etc... but still... on the other hand, calls come in for serious crashes, people ejected, etc. and when you get there, there's not a bystander to be found - the caller(s) didn't even bother to stop to see if anyone was hurt. Again, unbelievable.”
“Dont judge others for driving around the scene, I have no medical experience, I could not have helped, the best thing I could do is get out of the way. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem...”
“@fxdwgi - While you should be commended and heralded for stopping and lending a hand, I see no logic in stopping the other lane of traffic, and no reason to judge others who did not stop. As others have said, there would be nothing I (or probably the majority of drivers) could do to help that had not already been done. Should everyone have just stopped and gawked with their mouths open? If I were there and saw that the situation was already being dealt with, I would have driven away and looked in the mirror later content with the fact that I GOT OUT OF THE WAY to let the professions do their job.”
“Several comments that violated our conversation guidelines were removed for being off-topic, containing personal attacks and not furthering the conversation.”
“To not stop and help appalls me. I was going westbound when I saw this person lying in the road. It looked like it perhaps was a minute or two after it happened. If you stop and offer, and the folks there say "we got it handled", then drive on. But don't NOT STOP. This young man was the age of my son. My prayers to his family.”
“@fxdwgi- I was one of the people that apparently needs to "look in the mirror and ask yourself what you REALLY should have done", however when I drove past there were already 2 cars stopped and one police car coming up the shoulder. I'm sure if you talk to the police department they would prefer that most people slowly and safely continue on their way rather than turn this tragic event into a spectacle. Although I applaud you for stopping and helping, its not right for you to call out everyone that kept driving. It appears as if you are just looking for a pat on the back or a "job well done".”
“I guess the main point of this argument is, did people who were the first to see the man on the road drive by without stopping to call 911? That seems to be the rub to me. If I came upon the scene and there were already cars stopped and helping I would drive by. But I would never ever not stop if it appears I am the first upon the scene or saw it happen. It is implied that people who were there first did not stop. That is shameful. Even without a phone, you can flag someone down, or try to stop bleeding.”
“Something for those who are offended by people who 'swerved' around the body to consider: You're diving along at 45, 50 - 60 - miles per hour. The LAST thing someone would ever think they would encounter is a human laying in the road. In our area we do encounter deer - sometimes in the road. I'd have to think that the shock of driving up at that speed and seeing 'something' in the road - a first thought is that it's NOT human. Seeing something like that is shocking, I believe it would probably take most people a few seconds - or even minutes after coming upon it for their mind to even grasp what they just saw. Especially when they are on their way someplace - their mind is absorbed in thought.”
“So really - give those people a break, even if it did occur to them to go back - they may have thought they'd only be in the way. I can tell you that when I have gone by accidents and the police have us all slowed up and shifting into one lane - I will not look at the accident. I feel so bad for the people, I also feel that my gawking at them at such a vulnerable and horrific time borders on morbid cruelty. I guess if it were me out there - injured and crumpled om the road - I wouldn't want people staring at me. That's just me tho...”
“My two cents: I have deep compassion and empathy for those struggling with depression or other mental illnesses, but, @Alan Benard - this man chose to end his life publicly. It was done on public property at a high-volume [traffic] time of day, so I feel that YES we as the general public have a right to know the story. It's not as though annarbor.com is posting images or something equally grotesque, they are just informing us on what happened, aka, the news.”
“I was one of the first cars to drive around. Virtually all traffic stopped for the body. Some of the commentary regarding those who did not stop can not pass without comment or explanation. The implication of the commentary seems to be that people who failed to stopped are likened to the lack of reaction by the Kitty Genovese incident in New York some years back. As a person who carefully drove far out and around shoulder to proceed please understand, at the time I had my four-year-old son in the car on my way to pick up my five year old daughter, was able to quickly divert his attention and hold his head looking the opposite direction while we drove around the scene. I noted that virtually all vehicles (traveling an average of 70 mph) did stop upon recognizing what was lying in the road. I did also note that upon recognition folks took extra care to avoid the body. I don't consider myself a nihilist for protecting my family first. Death is hard enough for an adult to deal with much less trying to explain to your young child 'why' an otherwise healthy looking young man is laying facedown on the highway. I wasn't about to stop and expose my son to that. However, in light of the number of others who did stop I don't consider it the same as those who witnessed Kitty Geenovese's murder and did nothing. That was the sense of the comments about those who drove on.”
” I don't think it is appropriate to have open comments in an article about a suicide. This is precisely the sort of thread that makes me unhappy that AnnArbor.com exists in its current format. There is a huge difference between the two paragraphs on an inside page of the news section this story would merit in a normal newspaper and what we see here now. And had this been a suicide confined to private property with no disruption of the public way, it would be in terrible taste and a serious lapse in editorial judgment to report on a suicide at all. What we have here -- beyond the brief, edited content reporting on the facts of the disruption to traffic -- sourced by a public official's quotes -- is bickering over split-second reactions to coming upon the scene, veiled personal attacks approved of by the moderators and remaining published, and other inappropriate commentary. None of it is necessary, and all of it serves to generate revenue for AnnArbor.com by turning this inappropriate commentary about a personal tragedy into page views. I know you will dump this into the Memory Hole with the rest of the criticism of your journalistic standards regarding reader comments. But maybe if enough people explain their unhappiness to you folks over at the second-rate blog, you'll improve your editorial standards, or find management with better judgment."
"Thank you, Alan Benard, for saying EXACTLY what I was thinking. I don't know why most news sites believe they need to have comments for each and every article (or any at all, for that matter). It just devolves into a forum for hate speech, wild speculation, and disrespectful treatment of sensitive matters such as this. The only news site I can think of that does not have comments is MSNBC.com and I like it that way because I an read the news and move on without getting upset about all the stupid and rude things people are putting in the comments."
HERE'S THE LAST POST (4/16/10):"I am really disappointed by what I am reading here. This is a sad and tragic event made more so by being played out in a public setting. Even more unfortunate is that the public setting included young children, in the vehicles, at the school, and on the bridge. For me this event made me stop and think about the fragility of life and how someone who can appear to be ‘normal’ or even ‘happy’ may very well be tormented and miserable. It is a reminder to me that the many things we surround ourselves with, friends, family, objects, can be taken away suddenly.
What I read above is so filled with blame and scorn and most of it is self-centered and, in my opinion, wrong. The person who came upon this scene first, stopped; as I would guess everyone else would have done had they been the first car down the road; whether they had kids in the car or not. Once there were people on site others chose to continue; and probably with good reason; those that drove on could not help this man. I would guess that many of those that kept going did what they could and called 911 reporting the incident to the police even though they would have suspected that others had already done that too. I strongly doubt that even one medically trained individual kept driving.
It was clear with one brief look that only trained medical professionals could help in this instance if help was even possible at that point. Even the police and firemen first on the scene could do little for this man. Had a different accident occurred on this site that needed many hands I have little doubt that all of you would have stopped and lent a hand as you could; say an accident that needed help evacuating people and escorting them to safety, or something similar. This man’s life essentially ended as soon as he hit the pavement and I suspect any doctor would agree that the damage was far too great for anyone to save him, no matter who was there.
Casting aspersions on your neighbors over this tragedy is just adding more tragedy. Do I have the moral high ground if I cried? Am I lesser if I did not? How long should I mourn, simply because I was there? Am I required to mourn at all for someone I did not know, whose death I happened upon? I suspect that those who have commented have had other experiences with tragedy and then also know that there is quite a wide range of human reactions to events such as these."Dear All:
For better or for worse, the interactive nature of the media is the news paradigm of the future. What's somewhat disturbing to me is that a certain segment of the readership, and this is an assumption, is more interested in commenting on whatever stories they might come across rather than something that affects them particularly. While it's true that I'm guilty of this by virtue of this very post, the question of what's right to do seems appropriate to address because my witness to this horrifying scene actually happened. In other words, for me, the moral question of what to do was suddenly less an abstract question than something I had to quickly consider because I was there.
The person that surfs the news simply to enter into these kinds of discussions is, in a sense, a cyber-gawker (I miss the hard copy A2 News where this thread couldn't happen). It was a bit of a rag; but it was our rag. I looked up this story because I was so traumatized by what happened that I felt knowing more about it might somehow ease my mind.
Finally, this is my first time entering into a discussion thread like this, and I found it both interesting and disturbing. Why disturbing? Because yesterday, when I was on line for a while following this, there were some cruel and callous comments that I couldn't believe popped up. I assume the reason for this is the lack of a delay, or filter, to stop them before they are posted. It is extremely unfortunate that the readers see totally inappropriate material at the same time the monitor does. Yes, it's only up there briefly, but it’s up there, and that is something that needs to be addressed as a matter of journalistic ethics.
Best – Randy Tessier
