Updated 20 November
EMERGENCY SERVICES PERSONNEL in Waterford have pleaded with bystanders to stop taking photos and videos of car crash victims, some of whom have died at the scene.
In an impassioned post on their Facebook page today, Waterford City Fire Service writes:
Why do people do this? It’s ghoulish, thoughtless and extremely distasteful.
We could fill this page with photos of the injured and dead that we see. But we don’t.
Sometimes it’s enough to know that horrible things happen without having to see them.
The plea was prompted by yesterday’s incident on Manor Street in the city, in which a two-year-old girl was tragically killed, reportedly after being hit by a truck while crossing the road with her mother.
According to Waterford City Fire Service, a large number of people actually tried to film and photograph the incident and aftermath on their phones.
They also pointed out an episode at a recent road traffic accident, in which a bystander “crept up” and recorded while emergency service tried to remove a motorist from their car, and ambulance staff treated him.
The driver later died.
Apart from being “ghoulish”, the Facebook post points to a few other reasons why witnesses should not record at the scene of accidents:
There’s the matter of respect for the dignity of the people involved, and the desire of paramount importance to not add to the grief and anguish felt by their families and friends.
So if you know somebody who considers this kind of thing alright, ask them to think about it just a little more.
The appeal has been shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook since this morning, and received overwhelming support from the public.
First published 19 November, 10.30pm
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