A 19-year-old young woman was driving through a very rural part of Utah with her 26-year-old boyfriend.
The part of Utah she was in is very dry and hot. There’s no cell service in that area, and the closest gas station was at least 100 miles away.
She was cruising along in the right lane of the highway, and there were a few truckers on the road that passed her on the left side.
“This guy in a lifted pickup came speeding up in the left lane and got stuck behind the truckers who were beside me,” she explained.
“Then he switched lanes to be behind me and started honking and tailgating and using his high beams.”
She had her cruise control on, so she clicked it down in the hopes that by going slightly slower, this guy would go around her on the left.
The trucks were now out of that lane, but this guy kept tailgating her for another 30 seconds.
“Then suddenly he was gone, I didn’t see what happened at first,” she continued.
“Then I saw in my mirrors that he was in a ditch. I slowed down more to look and my boyfriend said I should stop so he could check on him.”
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“I said no, I was not getting near someone with that temper, no way.”
She just kept driving, but her boyfriend brought up the fact that maybe nobody else would stop to help them, and it looked like this road rager had his family in his truck with him.
“I said I had been more worried about myself, after being raged at like that. And anyway we couldn’t turn back now, there was no turnaround for a while.”
“Hopefully, they had water in the truck but if not there was nothing I could do now.”
There was not any cell service in the area, and she didn’t get that back for several days. She pointed out that there really wasn’t a way that she could have even called 911 for help.
Although she could have changed her course to try to find cell service faster, she was nervous to get to her campsite after dark.
Her boyfriend thinks she was unkind for not stopping to help, meanwhile, she thinks she was being smart and staying safe.
Here’s what the internet had to say.
“Your boyfriend fails to understand how much more dangerous it is for a 19-year-old girl to pull over for a stranger than it is for a (presumably) able-bodied adult man.”
“Sorry not sorry, you were in the correct lane driving at the speed limit. The left lane is the passing lane the right is for slower traffic. That person needs to go back to driver’s ed.”
“I have stopped at the scene of an accident before and helped and generally it is one’s duty as a fellow traveler. Here, you absolutely did the right thing.”
“This is a person with little self-control. They may have blamed you for a self-inflicted accident. They could have harmed you and your boyfriend. Call 911 and let them help them.”
“He did have an accident and could have been hurt. So yes, you should have at least stopped to check.”
“You weren’t alone, you didn’t have to exit your vehicle. But you should have stopped to let your boyfriend check.”
“Of course you don‘t stop for someone who’s a threat to you.”
“Someone else can help them, if you drive dangerously and then crash you can’t expect the people you where harassing to help.”
“My God, doesn’t your boyfriend read the news??? And wasn’t your boyfriend paying attention when the guy was tailgating and harassing you??”
“He could have had a gun, and having a guy with you would be of no help at all if the aggressive nutcase you’re dealing with is armed! You did the right thing, and your boyfriend is wrong wrong wrong!”
You can read the rest of what the internet had to say to her here.