"Dammit, people. Help one another out."
That's the message from a frustrated Christchurch man who was one of only a few people to pull over and help out after a "serious" car crash.
Mark Smith told Newshub he drove past a "smashed-up car with all its air bags blown" at around 6pm on Sunday, at the intersection of Brougham St and Gasson St in Sydenham.
He said about six cars drove past the crash before he pulled over and helped the man out of the car. Another man on a "sick motorbike" soon stopped to help, but others drove straight past.
Mr Smith, who is an account manager, said it "sucks" that not a single person other than him and the man on the motorbike stopped to check on the shocked man and move his car off the road.
But that wasn't the end of his disappointment. When Mr Smith left the scene - he was on his way to see his children - he called an ambulance, thinking someone would have already called.
"What really pisses me off is the guy on the phone said nothing was called in. Nobody cared to help," he said.
"There must have been at least 30 people who probably would have been there when it happened and about another 100 people who would have drove through it [and] would have had to avoid us awkwardly… It makes you lose a lot of faith in humanity."
"Do these people not believe in paying it forward? It's so sad because every day we see people hungry on the streets, people who struggle to get by."
Mr Smith penned his frustrations on Facebook, calling for people to help out those in need.
Many commented that they had witnessed or been in similar situations.
One said on Friday, a "girl [was] stuck on Blenheim Road with hazard lights on and everyone just drove round her."
"I stopped to help her move her car, and she said she had been sitting there for 30 minutes with no one stopping. Couldn't believe it!" wrote Fiona Sutherland wrote.
Cathy Morrison wrote that when she was involved in a minor accident in Christchurch, hundreds of people on their way to work drove past but nobody stopped to help.
It seems counterintuitive, but some psychologists believe the more people that witness a situation, the less likely an individual is to intervene - firstly because they expect someone else to, and secondly because individuals look to the group for clues on how to behave, so a lack of action from others indicates their inaction is the correct behaviour.
Newshub spoke to police, who confirmed the accident took place and that police, the fire service and ambulance were called to the scene. They said there were no serious injuries.
Newshub.
