Serious/ fatal accidents
Discussion
Well done Leon for keeping your head and acting so methodically. There isn't much more that I can say that hasn't been said already. I came upon a very bad RTA very soon after the event. That was 17 years ago. I still think about the victim regularly and wonder what happened to him. I hope that you can get over this experience soon.
To the OP. Well done. If I am ever in an accident like that, I hope that there are people around like you. Memories fade, especially if you can convince yourself that you did the best you could at the time. If you still feel that you could have done more, it just means that you are a true human being, with a very decent set of values, and for that I salute you. I wish there were more of you. To help put your mind at rest, you might think of taking some sort of course for life saving, it will help to tell you that you did do all you could with what knowledge you had at the time, and help you for the next one, which I sincerely hope will never happen. Once again, well done.
Sorry to reply so late but I only just stumbled across this topic. Having dealt with lots and lots of really horrid fatal RTCs and also Sudden Deaths I feel I can add my 2ps worth.
Firstly, it is perfectly normal to suddenly recall images from a shocking incident. It's the brains way of making sense of the incident and trying to deal with it and process all those thoughts that happened so suddenly at the roadside in a progressive way.
The whole process of recalling vivid thoughts and senses from the incident should last no longer than a week. You'll end up again worrying about more mundane things and the incident will fade into the background with you thinking about it less emotionally. If the thoughts continue being vivid after this period it is clear that you may need some sort of 'closure' about it. The best thing is if it is bugging you keep talking about it! I remember after a particularly grusome sudden death I was muttering on about it for ages. Won't make you popular, but by god it helps!
Counselling is another way of doing this and certainly your local GP can get you free sessions which may be all you need.
Above all your reaction is perfectly normal and in my career all too frequent.
Firstly, it is perfectly normal to suddenly recall images from a shocking incident. It's the brains way of making sense of the incident and trying to deal with it and process all those thoughts that happened so suddenly at the roadside in a progressive way.
The whole process of recalling vivid thoughts and senses from the incident should last no longer than a week. You'll end up again worrying about more mundane things and the incident will fade into the background with you thinking about it less emotionally. If the thoughts continue being vivid after this period it is clear that you may need some sort of 'closure' about it. The best thing is if it is bugging you keep talking about it! I remember after a particularly grusome sudden death I was muttering on about it for ages. Won't make you popular, but by god it helps!
Counselling is another way of doing this and certainly your local GP can get you free sessions which may be all you need.
Above all your reaction is perfectly normal and in my career all too frequent.
I had a guy try to race me off one of the slip roads on Millbrook Road in Southampton only to lose it and get killed by an aggregates lorry on the roundabout. What's weird is that since then my brain has gone into a self-defence mode and I now find it very difficult to recall anything but the sketchiest details of the incident. Sounds like you did all you could.
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