Man by road

An odd thing happened to me on my way home from church last Sunday. I was driving up Route 1 and I saw a body by the side of the road. Let me clarify….a human body. It was a shirtless man lying on his side half on a blanket. He was on the other side of the culvert next to the road but at the very edge of the woods.

As I drove by, I thought that it appeared that he might be sleeping but it was hard to tell. I drove on for about another mile and the thought that he was lying there and could be sick or dead just kept nagging me. I turned around and heading back down the road.

When I drove by him again, on the side of the road where he was lying, it didn’t look like he was dead but driving by at 45 mph, it was hard to tell. I turned around again and this time, as I approached him, I pulled along the side of the road onto the shoulder directly across from him.

From this vantage point, I could see that he was alive and I could even see that he was breathing (his chest was rising and falling). But I couldn’t tell if he was napping or had fallen ill.

So I pulled up to a self-storage a few yards up the road and parked in the driveway. I called the Maine State Patrol and the person who answered the phone wanted to know where I was parked. I said I was pretty sure I was in Biddeford but I may still be in Arundel. I was transferred to the Biddeford Police Department. The dispatcher there determined that I was still in Arundel and transferred me to the York County Sheriff’s Office.

I told that dispatcher that there was a man lying by the side of the road on Route 1 southbound near the self-storage place and I felt someone should check him out. That dispatcher told me that a deputy and an ambulance had already been dispatched because someone else had already called in. I said that I would wait in case the man got up and wandered off.

About 30 seconds later, I heard the ambulance coming and then they pulled up next to the man. He didn’t move. The paramedics got out of the vehicle and walked over to him. He still didn’t move. They said something to him trying to wake him. He finally woke up, rubbed his face and looked at them. I couldn’t hear what they said back and forth but he seemed to be assuring them that he was fine.

After I was sure that all was well, I drove off. I mentioned this to someone and she said that the man was still sitting by the side of the road when she had driven by about an hour after I had been there.

The whole incident was certainly an interesting thing to happen on an Easter Sunday. I kept thinking about the parable of the Good Samaritan. Granted, in the parable, the Good Samaritan had actually tended to the needs of the person lying by the side of the road. But I am a single woman and didn’t feel I should risk myself by actually confronting the man myself. I did the safe yet neighborly thing and called the authorities, who are trained to handle these situations.

I am aware that there is a homeless population in York County, ME. I see the occasional person holding up a sign or pushing a cart down the street. But it isn’t as prevalent as it is in Boston, New York or even Portland (Maine, that is). I hope that this man eventually was able to find someplace to stay and would be safe. Safer than napping by the side of a busy road. Even if it was a lovely spring day, it wasn’t an appropriate place to take a nap.

One other thing to note, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one to call it in. That was one of my fears. That the man was sick or dead and I didn’t do anything about it. That no one did anything about it. I have heard of that happening and it is tragic when people suffer from such bystander apathy that they can’t compel themselves to get involved. It is comforting to know that others are paying attention and trying to help. Gives me faith in mankind!