I might have saved a life

I might have saved a life today. In truth, my actions were more instinctive than intentional; I had prevented a stranger from being struck by a car by grabbing his coat as he stepped off a Manhattan curb and into traffic. The oncoming car was speeding fast down the narrow street, trying to make a green light. The stranger was concentrating on his iPhone and was oblivious to the danger. It was unlikely that the driver could have stopped in time, and the man surely would have been struck. He was shaken after the incident and thanked me, claiming I saved his life.

Later, as I replayed the scene, I wondered about the thought process that led to my grabbing a complete stranger and pulling him back out of harm's way. Of course it happened so fast that I was not conscious of the decisions I had to make. In short, I saw a speeding car and an unaware pedestrian and naturally reached out to prevent the accident. But were my actions natural? Sure, it was easy to access the danger of the situation, but the choice to grab the man was selected over other possibilities. I could have shouted a warning; I could have done nothing and hoped for the best; or I could have alerted the driver.

At first blush my decision seems obvious among the choices. Still, though, there was more information to process. I had to decide that the probability the man would be struck was very high. And I had to weigh the risk of him getting hurt against the chance that he would take offense at being forcibly grabbed by a stranger. This last point is trickier than it may seem, because I had to judge that it was appropriate to touch him and I wonder how I would have reacted if it was a different person. Would I grab a woman in the same way? Would I a grab a homeless person? Is the fact that he was a man similar to me a factor in saving him from injury? I like to think that I would react the same regardless of the person at harm.

In the end the only thing that matters was the man did not get injured. I suppose it was nice, too, that he was appreciative.