Scattered thoughts

I should be doing paperwork right now, but I'm not cos I only just got back from dropping Phil at the bus station for the 8pm coach.

Why did it take me so long to get back from a 5-10 min run?

Well... (and for more information on this see benc's far more detailed LJ entry on it here)

We were walking back from the bus station to Watling Street Car Park (that's the one next to Whitefriars ;)) to the car when I noticed a man and a woman having an argument...when I next turned around he was pushing her over fairly violently. Then he got into the car and started to reverse from the parking space. She started to scream for help and she was clawing at his door trying to open it. The next thing I knew the screaming had stopped, she was on the floor and the man had stopped his car next to ours asking if we'd seen what had happened and would we stay around for the police so we could verify his story...

We went over to where she was lying and she seemed proper out of it. He kept telling us how she was really drunk and they'd been thrown out of Cafe Rouge and she got violent when she was drunk. Apparently she'd been trying to vandalise his car - they were partners apparently. She was lying on her back but we didn't know how she had got there. She was breathing so we left her like that and I covered her up with my coat while another bystander called for an ambulance. She's still unconcious and the man keeps asking her if she wants to go home. The witnesses (including ben and I) kept saying as she was unconcious she shouldn't be moved. I don't know about anyone else but part of my motivation in saying that was so she didn't go anywhere with him. He came across as a right sleaze. Yes, she was definately pissed - you could smell it, but she was unconcious and he didn't make any move to cover her up, check she was breathing or call for an ambulance. If you care about someone enough to date them and live with them why would you just not react at all when they are seemingly hurt?

Eventually the ambulance turned up and they got her up, awake and into the ambulance. When they woke her up she seemed really disorentated and whispered some stuff that ben could hear - her neck hurt, she wanted help, call the police. Then she came to herself a bit more and screamed for the police, that he was known to the police, he'd done this before. Once she was in the ambulance he took our names and drove off - didn't even ask about her...

We got the number plate - the police took it when they arrived and put out a call for it. Hopefully they'll find he's been drinking and he'll get done for drink driving (sorry - I really didn't like the guy). The police took our details and will get in touch if they need to.

So she is an apparently violent drunk, he's a scumbag who wants to move someone who possibly has head and neck injuries and who he was happy to drive away from earlier. Seems almost like they deserve one another. I dunno :|

I feel really shaken by it. Of all the witnesses I was the one who saw the most and I saw him push her over and I didn't do anything. I remember thinking conciously "What if he's got a weapon or something. I should stay out of it. I don't want to get hurt" I just stood and watched and it wasn't until she went down and stopped screaming and he stopped his car I went to do something.

When you hear about those people who have walked past when there has been an assault going on I keep thinking "I wouldn't do that". Faced with that situation I'm not convinced. I feel really bad about myself right now. I'm worried I would just walk by.

I don't want to be that person, I just got so scared.