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Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Life Lessons (go get your Mr. Rogers' cardigan and sneakers, because you'll need them)

Submitted to thiscrazytrain.com
By Anonymous

The following story has 2 morals, both of which will be told first:

1) Do not run to your car.  Nothing is worth those few extra seconds and minutes
2) Do not trust GO Transit to assist in a timely manner in an emergency.

The story:
Caught the 4:30 LSE train and disembarked at Ajax.  Took the elevator to the tunnel as the knee isn't working because of the heat and humidity (had I took the stairs, would not have seen this).

A woman was rushing and either tripped over her feet or someone cut her off and tripped her.  She did a complete faceplant.  Was knocked unconscious and started bleeding profusely from a head wound.

Another woman who was closer to the scene managed to get to the injured woman, keep her immobile (when she came to there was confusion and she fought the hands holding her still) and with scavenged kleenex and napkins made a compress for the head wound.  Two other women called 911, someone called GO Transit from the emergency button and at least one man alerted the station attendants.  

I gave an update to one of the women who got through to 911, and then let the group know the ambulance is coming.  As I was walking as fast as I could to see if the ambulance arrived one station attendant finally arrived.  Taking her sweet ass time to get to the injured woman.  To make matters worse as we made eye contact, the attendant smirked.  There was no hurry to the scene of an emergency.  This was completely unacceptable.

Once the EMTs arrived, I did leave the scene and I called GO Transit once home to mention the completely unacceptable behaviour of the attendant.  Suggesting that if they do not have first aid training, then they need to complete courses, as unconsciousness and blood indicate an emergency.  Heck they are the two things that will get you bumped to the top of the list in the ER. 

In the end, I really hope the injured woman is ok and back on her feet soon.  

But I really hope to never need assistance if everyone reacts the way the station attendant acted.

And please people: rushing to your cars/buses/rides is not worth it.  Especially if it could land you in the hospital.

UPDATE

GO Transit has officially launched an investigation into this incident. 

9 comments:

GO Voyageur said...

I, too, hope the injured woman is making a speedy recovery.

I agree with Anonymous’ first point. Some passengers view the exit from the train and GO station as an Olympic event. I’m surprised more accidents don’t happen.

I take exception with the author’s second point in using a rather broad brush to characterize front-line staff.

I have talked to numerous drivers, and they take to heart the well-being of their passengers, often going above the call of duty to look after them. I have always found CSA’s and conductors quick to respond to a Code 1033, even though most times it was the result of a passenger missing their stop and pushing the yellow emergency strip.

This incident, as described, should be investigated — with appropriate remediation where necessary.

Jules said...

I hope she is ok, and I agree the 2-3 minutes you save by rushing are not worth it. I see it every day and I have almost been hit by numerous cars walking through the parking lot by idiots racing to get out. So much rage with GO parkers.
I am pretty sure that all companies must comply with Ontario Ministry of Labour to have some employees that are trained in first aid and take Joint Health and Safety certification.

Nora1968 said...

It wouldn't surprise me, sadly, if this poor woman was indeed sideswiped or cut off by someone intent on getting to their car before anyone else - I've seen this type of behavior at Oshawa time and again. Still , we don't know and thus can't condemn what we haven't confirmed.

What really gets to me in this whole story is the part where the GO front-line staff person SMIRKED as she approached the emergency situation (slowly, which is even worse - I'm pretty sure if I heard "blood" and "unconscious" anywhere on my watch I'd be moving my butt to get there). The smirk suggests that the "emergency" either was considered an overstatement, or simply not worth her time.

And that, in my opinion, is the biggest issue in this whole scenario, because if passengers and users of GO facilities are supposed to anticipate that they can expect good customer service from ALL GO staff (it's in the Charter, in different language), then this attitude - regardless of the staff person's ability to deal with the situation at hand - is beyond inappropriate and that person has no business in a front-line role.

I'm very glad that GO has confirmed an official investigation and hopefully there will be an update available as to just how they plan to address this (both specifically, and in general).

Anonymous said...

We don't have station attendants at the end of the day on the Kitchener line.

deepfish said...

Systemic culture that pays lipservice to customer care and safety, but so clearly does NOT invest in enforcement, signage or any other thing that could cost money.
We all know where the problems are - smokers, loiterers and bottle necks to name a few... they are not hard to spot, just hard for the bureaucracy to give a crap about.

Marymary said...

I'm hoping that "smirk" was an eye contact/in passing small smile. To me a smirk is a silent snicker; it has added facial expressions.

Rory said...

If this went down as described then I hope that GO Transit takes the appropriate disciplinary action. That having been said I know from personal experience that ones perception of time is distorted during an emergency and that often the emergency response feels like it is taking forever when in reality it is relatively quick.

Anonymous said...

As the author of the story, I can say that yes, time does seem to slow. But it is noticeable when someone isn't hurrying.

I passed by the site of the accident several times last week. The blood is still on the concrete. No one thought to take a mop or some water to it and try to get rid of it.

And finally, I was told to expect a phone call by today for the results of the investigation. I had the option of anonymously reporting the issue, but I think there needs to be accountability, so I asked to be updated. If I do not hear back, I will definitely be calling tomorrow and everyday until I get an actual response and not corporate bafflegab.

MG said...

very scary. I hope she is ok. and ya running to your car in that stupid parking garage in Ajax could get you killed by the crazies who drive out of it like it's a freakin' race track.