When he couldn’t free the driver involved in a Pittsburgh crash, a man sat in the street and held the stranger’s hand through the car window
By Marcie Cipriani
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PITTSBURGH (WTAE) — When Nathaniel Bunn watched a car roll over on its roof in the Chateau neighborhood of Pittsburgh, he, his son and his father left their vehicle at a red light and ran to help.
“We tried to get it open, but we couldn’t. The door was jammed. Another pedestrian, he had a tire iron or something that we tried to get the door open with, but we couldn’t pry it open, so I resigned to sit down and just told her to hold my hand,” Bunn said.
Bunn said he couldn’t see the driver and she wasn’t making a noise, but he managed to put his hand through the car and reached hers.
“I was feeling kind of in despair. I don’t feel like that often. Just because of how the world is going on, a lot of things,” he said. “And a lot of people were videotaping and stuff.”
He said he was relieved when she squeezed his hand back. That’s when Bunn started to console her.
He said he told the driver, “‘You can squeeze my hand, for comfort. Everything’s going to be OK. We can’t get the door open, but just hang on. Help’s on the way.'”
Bunn said he sat there on Western Avenue at the intersection with the West End Bridge Sunday afternoon, holding her hand until Pittsburgh paramedics arrived and he said he has been thinking about her since.
“I did call AGH to ask how the crash accident was doing, and they said we can just tell you that no one’s critical,” Bunn said. “I didn’t know her name.”
Bunn said he hopes the driver is now healing and that others learn that compassion counts.
“I’m glad that I was there to help her, and hope she was comforted by my actions,” Bunn said. “Everybody should maybe learn from this if it’s possible. If you see somebody in a situation where you can help, try to help them. Don’t be selfish.”
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