I was driving down the A3 in Surrey early this afternoon, just south of Guildford – Godalming turnoff, when I saw an artic truck suddenly swerve from the nearside lane to the outside lane and then crash into the central barrier and stop. I was 2 cars behind it. Stopped, hazards on, then saw something lying in the road. Thought it must be a motorcycle as def not a car. Jumped out of the car and ran up the road to see what was going on, couldn’t see a bike just something in the road so thought at first it must be a deer or some other animal. Got close and then realised it was a man in the road. Head bashed in, blood all over and, macarbrely, ankle torn off with a white trainer on it. I just new he was dead. Bloke in his 50’s I would say. Didn’t want to look too closely. Other people appear – maybe they’d been there all along, I don’t know. Weird the way no one knows what to do in that situation. Someone said first aid. Hit by a 40 ton truck at 50mph- there’s not much call for that.

Truck driver, clearly traumatised, tumbles out of cab, and says the dead guy had deliberately run from the hard shoulder in front of him. The driver said he’d looked at the guy the as he ran into the path of the truck. No accident. Suicide. His car – the victim that is – was on the hard shoulder. All this was before the emergency servicies arrived. I looked in the car very clean, brand new, looked like a hire car. Truck driver sat crying on the road side. Apologising for disrupting our journeys!!! ‘He just ran out, there was nothing I could do’ he kept saying to me. The guy was very traumatised. Still no one seems to know what to do… Take the driver away from the dead body, just keep talking to him. He wants to ring his wife but then says he’s too upset to talk to her. I say should I ring your employer let them know whats going on no he say’s.

By now just listening out for the sirens. That was a very long wait. Though prob only 5 mins. Police, Ambulance do what they’re trained to do, thank god.

And I stand there reflecting on how desperate someone must be to be driving down the A3, stop their car on the hard shoulder – and lock it!!! – and then jump out in front of a 40 ton truck travelling at 60mph.

I’m staying home tmrw and hugging everyone I love. My life isn’t perfect. Like everyone I’ve got worries and concerns. But that guys family will have 2 police officers knocking on their door tonight. And their lives will never be the same again.

My thought’s are with the family of someone very desperate.

Life hangs by a thread. Cherish those you love.

😯 Take nothing for granted. Tomorrow is not promised. Sorry you had to witness that 😥

Is there someone you can talk to, close friend or relative?

Be open about your emotions and how it made you feel at the time and since.

Very distressing thing to see, I admire the emergency services personnel and the way they deal with such horrific incidents. OP your last two sentences capture what is really important.

what drac said +1

Tell your work about it too just in case you need some help. It’s horrible being first on the scene. I had a similar problem and walked away before could not handle it.

Ive no words of wisdom that I think will make and difference but I am genuinely sorry that anybody had to be a witness to that poor mans suicide.

Look after yourself and don’t hesitate to seek help if you need it.

It’s horrible but happens more often than you realise. Try calling the samaritans or your GP they will give you links to people you can talk to who specialise in post trauma victims

Samaritans would be a good shout if you struggle to initially talk about it with friends and family. Sometimes having someone anonymous to open up to can really help start to deal with emotional trauma.

Horrendous experience. Nice words op.

Sorry to hear, talk to someone, family will be good so they know how you feel. But top this up with the Samaritans or something similar.

And everyone should love their family and friends today.

I’ve seen lots of deceased people in road accidents, and it is awful, please talk to someone about what happened, but find someone who wants to listen. Most people don’t want the burden of your experience, that’s what I found, that’s why the emergency services talk to each other about horiffic experiences , to share the pain.
If you have a mate who will listen tell them how you are feeling, don’t bottle it up though, that is the worst thing to do.
On the positive side you have stopped and helped the driver of the hgv, he will appreciate that.
In cases like this you need to tell yourself that there was nothing you could have done to change what happened, you were a witness of a terrible moment in time, it will take a couple of weeks before you feel totally ok.
If you don’t and it starts to be a problem, get some counselling.
I know how you are feeling and it is terrible, but it will almost certainly pass,
God rest the soul of the dead guy, he will probably be in a better place now than he was whilst living, another positive .

That’s horrendous, for everyone on all sides – love and positive thoughts to you all. 🙁

Terrible thing. I was second on scene to a lady who’d dropped down dead in the street, a work colleague was the first. It affects people differently and it didn’t touch me really, but he had all sorts of problems. Don’t be shy in seeking proper help for it before finding out you should have. And well done for helping in whatever way you did.

I’m a Guildford local, and now feel bad for cursing the traffic last night that meant I couldn’t get home in time for my daughter’s school presentation evening 🙁

Lastly, I’m sure that you were spoken to there but just in case not

Anybody who witnessed the collision or events prior to the collision is asked to call Surrey Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 01483 639922 quoting, P16273498.

i have been that truck driver … still have the night mares. as easygirl said you probably helped the hgv driver more than you realise, I
know I was by the young girl who chatted to me for 10 mins or so before
the services all arrived.

and yes talk to someone, sooner rather than later as it really does help.

[HUGS]

The fact you have started talking about it here is good. It reflects well on you that you have used this experience to reaffirm your love for those that matter to you.

Sadly suicide is all too common, and all too common not to be talked about.

Thanks for sharing that, your getting it out of your system, it does help, dont bottle it up, others that where there will feel the same, youll be in shock and scared, just talk cry and repeat, it does get better over time.

Manly hug to you sir.

I was one of the family members of the man who ran in front of the truck a few years back.

All I can really say is thank you for stopping and helping the HGV driver – I know there was a lot of guilt felt by members of my family for the trauma the driver went through and anything you did to help with that initial shock will have a lasting benefit – he didn’t have to sit in his cab and face it alone for that time you were there.

Sadly suicide is all too common, and all too common not to be talked about.

It is indeed; it’s also a predominantly male problem. Over 75% of suicides are by men. The fact that the problem isn’t talked about is part of the explanation for this. Men typically just don’t talk about their feelings so OP, you’re doing the right thing by opening up here.

I saw a lorry driving over a car a few years ago. The driver of the car was a young lady. I ran out of my car and held her hand as she passed away.
That affected me badly as I didn’t get any therapy after it happened. Nightmares and irritability. Turned out I had PTSD which was one of the contributing factors to a huge breakdown I then suffered.
Go and speak to someone OP. I promise you it will help you in the long run.

Best wishes wayward rider. As ^ Guildford (or any) Samaritans are excellent listeners.

We were caught up in aftermath twice and my wife was somehow aware that there had been a fatality. Awful for all concerned. Our thoughts are with you all.

Sending big Manhug.

Terrible for all concerned. Go talk to people. Samaritans are a good call.

As a few have said, but iolo, above illustrates very clearly, please talk to a professional. It really will help.

In the meantime, in light of all you’ve just gone through, thanks for your deeply sympathetic response and description.

Best wishes.

I believe the catchphrase for what your currently going through is “normal responses to an abnormal event”, talking it through with someone who’ll listen will help, if your not feeling any improvement over the next 28 days (or getting worse), seek professional help from someone like this.

reality seems oddly fake in these horrible moments.

like others have said, speak about it, but try not to linger on it.

Talking helps, Reflection as well. I’ve been witness to some horrific accidents but it affectedd me differently.

Feel rotten for gettIng angry with the traffic last night trying to get home from the station. A lesson there for sure.

+1 for talking about it. Police officers have other police officers to talk to about things like this, and I’m sure it’s the same for paramedics, doctors and firefighters. That’s how we process the horrible things that we deal with, and I would recommend it. All the best, and well done for what you did do, it makes a difference.

That’s horrific. I don’t think anyone can know what to do in a situation like that, but it sounds like you did all you could possibly do. Now you need to look after yourself a bit.

And thanks for writing that here; especially the last two sentences. As bad as that situation was, I think it’s good to be reminded, as you say, how fragile everything is, and about what’s really important.

All the best.

I’d echo what others have said about talking about it and your experiences.

I ended up one of the first on the scene last year at a horrific RTA and spent many weeks going over in my head what I did, what I should have done….what if….etc.
It definitely helped to talk and the message from others that I probably struggled to accept at first was that “I did what I could and it doesn’t matter what else I could or should have done, what’s done is done” or words to that effect.

You mentioned no point in ‘first aid’ but have you considered that what you did was first aid? You assessed the situation, made your best call, focused on where you could assist and helped the driver of the truck – that is first aid.

Obviously, no one would wish that situation on anyone but you made a difference and helped another human being. Accepting and acknowledging that, helped me settle the ‘what if’ thoughts and deal with the memory.

Can’t imagine how this must feel and all credit to you for giving help. Speak to your GP or employer to see if they can access support services / counselling – a few sessions of trauma counselling will probably yield dividends for the future.

Looks like they are asking for witnesses:

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/a3-guildford-crash-pedestrian-confirmed-12253688

Anybody who witnessed the collision or events prior to the collision is asked to call Surrey Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 01483 639922 quoting, P16273498.

Most people in a modern society are isolated from death, especially traumatic death, so seeing a dead body is well outside our view of normality. Even when traumatic deaths at work were more common a lot of people didn’t cope with it but were simply told “Pull yourself together man”. We’ve moved on, as others have said some form of counselling will help – see your GP.

One Christmas Eve many years ago I witnessed a fatal RTA – a woman had stepped in front of a truck. The truck driver was obviously in shock even though it wasn’t his fault. It turned out that the previous Christmas exactly the same thing had happened when another pedestrian stepped in front of his truck.

Grim.

I witnessed this a couple of weeks ago: http://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/man-who-died-after-falling-12182122

My office window looks onto the scene.

Horrific. The police turned up at the guys hotel room, he then jumped through the window and the police managed to grab hold of his feet. The police were trying so hard to hold onto the guy but he fought them off and fell to his death 🙁

not much to add except that must be a horrible experience. Some good advice already provided

Having had to deal with the aftermath of a lot of traumatic incidents I can only tell you what’s worked for me. As others have said – talking about it and recognising it’s upsetting is the biggest thing, so you’re already a step ahead. Also try and focus on the things you did to help. A person died which is immensely sad – but comforting and talking to the HGV driver was probably the single best thing you could do in that situation – turning on your hazards to increase the safety of others who’d got out of their cars. It may sound silly but you made an awful thing slightly less bad. It’s important. Well done.

Very sorry to read this. Lots of good advice on this thread.

Jesus, that’s a tough one.

[HUGs]

Sounds like you acted well in the worst of circumstances.

A riding friend tried to talk someone down off the high M62 bridge in west Yorks but he jumped to his death. He said he still thinks about it and I think that’s the key – you’ll never ever forget it, but the distress you feel will fade, even more so if you get help and let others help you.

Best wishes.