Dangerwheels!

If you see this logo on a bus, watch out! Do not cross the street or do anything (maybe keep your camera phone out) until it's far away.

I was walking with a friend up 42nd street today, up to the park near the U.N., and we saw this bus from Burke Christian Tours hit someone crossing the street. I didn't see the actual moment of impact, but my friend did, and it was evident when she did: we were walking along and this group of girls passed by us on our left. All of a sudden I hear my friend yell, "OH MY GOD!" I was taken aback, and thought she must have recognized one of the girls and was having an exaggerated reaction, but then I looked where she was looking and she said that this bus had just hit this guy trying to cross the street. You could clearly see what had happened, as he was yelling at the driver and his walkman was splayed all over the street in pieces. The bus pulled over to the side of the street and the driver called the police. We walked up and told him we'd seen what had happened. (Curiously, no one else stopped to help. I think it's possible that no one else had seen it, although I can't imagine the person who was in the car waiting at the light not seeing it. It's certainly possible, though.) So we waited for the police to arrive.

Several minutes elapsed with no one showing up, in spite of the fact that it happened almost directly across the street from the U.N., and the driver called again. This driver, whose voice reeked of hick, clearly, indubitably had no business driving in New York City. We heard him say that he didn't know what borough he was in (he even mispronounced the word borough); and we also heard him telling the person on the other end of the line that he was on "42nd avenue." We began to wonder whether he had even called the police at all, but after a few minutes a fire truck and a police car showed up.

As for the person who was hit, he kept saying that he was fine and didn't need an ambulance, but with something like that, I kinda think going to the hospital is a good idea even if you feel fine. He wasn't knocked over (although he had to ask my friend if he'd fallen--it's not a good sign if you don't remember), but it appeared as if his mouth was bleeding. Also, it's not like he would have to pay for it--the tour company's insurance should cover it. At any rate, my friend gave her name for the police report, and after that we had to leave. So a lot of drama there!

V.P. blames the whole incident on the new Pope. And to look at him, I'd be inclined to agree. That biatch could totally be right out of a horror movie.

And that's the beep I can think of right now.

Beep!
Ed Shepp

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