Dear Mr Ford: We Go First Person On Your Ass
OK, I tried to put this in SFist's collective voice, but it just doesn't work. Forgive me!
So, I'm on the N Judah this morning, around 8:45. I'm seated when I feel someone leaning on me. Lord help me, I look up, all annoyed, when I realize that the guy standing next to me has lost consciousness, and is falling.
The people around me reacted quickly, one guy grabbing him from the front, as the woman behind him hangs on to his head and keeps him from completely falling. I grab his shoulders. He's in a dead faint -- I won't go into embarassing details, but the brother was out.
Thanks to reader Kahvita, who sent us this image from *jenni.'s Flickr page.
Everyone around us is helping, somehow. Necks are craned in concern, people are supporting him from all sides, and, closer to the end of the car, someone's pusing the emergency call button, but is not getting any response.
We're rocketing doen the tunnel towards Civic Center, trying to hold this guy up. The train isn't stopping, or even slowing down. He's conscious now, but doesn't look great. I tell him "When we get to the stop, I'm going to get up and you're going to hop into my seat and rest there." He sort of nods, but he's spacey, still a little out.
All the while, people are trying to get the driver's attention (who is completely behind the plexiglass and not accepting fares), with no luck. I heard a guy say "He's just ignoring me!" Finally, we stop, and someone hops out, runs to the front, and somehow convinces the driver to come back.
My friends, the driver walks back through the station (NOT the car) and looks through the window at the guy, who is now in my former seat and giving a weak thumbs up. (Forgive me, fainting guy, you are handsome and well dressed, but you still looked like s**t.) I hear people telling the driver what happened, that the guy should get off the train and get attention, but the driver does not react. In fact, he just sort of shrugs and goes back to the front of the train, after which he takes off.
I can't freakin' believe this. The driver doesn't even have the common human decency to enter the passenger portion of the train and ask the guy if he's OK. A thumbs up is enough to absolve him of responsibility, I guess. I'm no trained professional, but this guy did not look well. I was quietly urging him to get off the train to get checked out, but the guy was still a little glassy and also seemed embarassed, an understandable reaction. But I find the driver's apparent diagnosis of health (through the window!) hard to forgive.
The train continued on. My fellow passengers press fruit snacks and juice on fainting guy, which he gratefully accepts. At Powell, he rather shakily stands to get off. "You OK to walk?" I asked "Yeah, yeah" The guy says, probably thinking "Leave me alone, MOM." I let him go, but I've been worried about him ever since. Are you OK, The Teamsters' Rebellion reading guy? I hope I'm not embarassing you, but I know I probably am. Sorry about that.
Come on, Muni. Every single person on the N this morning had more humanity in their pinky than your driver had in his whole body. I cannot -- I refuse to -- believe that this driver's attitude complied with Muni policy. Folks, if you were on the N this morning and witnessed this, join me in complaining about this driver's disregard for common f**king human decency.
My fellow Muni riders: excellent people. My driver this morning: take a hard look at yourself, friend. This was not your finest hour.