After a video showing a teenage boy being struck by a vehicle in Sheffield, Westmoreland, went viral, many social media users questioned why the person recording did not step in to help. In the video, the 15-year-old student displayed erratic behaviour on the road shortly before the accident.
The video was captured by a woman who has since spoken out, explaining that she, along with others, had tried to intervene several times before the collision. The teen, who has special needs, was reportedly behaving unusually along the Sheffield main road on Monday when he was hit by a multi-purpose minivan.
According to witnesses, the incident was not as straightforward as it appeared in the short clip circulating online. It is said that the boy told bystanders that he wanted to end his life. The woman behind the camera of the viral video explained that she had even tried to calm the teen by buying him water and giving him money to take a taxi home. He accepted the help but did not go far before returning to the same area.
When he failed to go home on his own, she reached out for the public’s assistance by sharing his photo online to see if someone would recognise him. She said that his regular driver later showed up and told the teen his father wanted him to go home.
She explained that her viral video was meant to record the vehicle he was going to take home. She indicated that she believed he was finally going to go home when he crossed the street. “I thought he was heading home. I didn’t know it was a suicidal attempt,” she explained. “Clearly it was, if he said he wanted to kill himself.” The incident has left the woman and other witnesses traumatised.
Another woman who works nearby confirmed hearing similar remarks from the boy. In the disturbing video, the boy can be seen pacing between lanes before suddenly leaping into the path of an oncoming vehicle. The impact sent him flipping through the air. A resident and her cousin took him to the hospital immediately after.
The woman who brought him to the hospital said the sounds of screams prompted her to rush out of her house, which is when she saw the boy. She explained that she could not leave the teen until his parents arrived because he is only a child.
Principal of the Llandilo School of Special Education, Roy Reid, later confirmed that the student, who has attended the school since age seven, struggles with following instructions and requires close supervision. He said the school community was heartbroken but relieved to hear the boy had a successful surgery.