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Click on picture to zoom
White oval ... the white van
Black oval w/white insert ... the police car
Red oval ... my car
Dashed line ... wheelchair route
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Today, I was traveling south on John Street North when a red light forced me to stop third in line behind a white service van with ladders on it's roof, and a police car.
The driver of the white van suddenly exited his vehicle and crossed in front of it to the sidewalk. I was unsure of what was happening and briefly lost sight of the man; however, within seconds the van driver reappeared in the middle of the busy intersection, pushing another man in a wheelchair.
I realized then that the wheelchair user had been struggling to legally cross the road, and was in danger from green-lighted traffic heading west. In Good Samaritan style, the van driver not only gave an assist to the Gore Park median; he ensured a successful crossing all the way to the sidewalk on the far south side of King Street East.
By this time, the light had changed again and the van was now blocking quite a few motorists from moving through the intersection. I wondered if the police officer would get involved at this point, but the appropriate answer is, no. The driver of the white van unceremoniously made his way back to his vehicle, hopped in and took off, straight ahead through the green light: The police car turned right at the corner.
The events described here all happened within just one full cycle of the traffic light. Miraculously, no one was hurt, inconvenienced drivers resisted the urge to engage in impatient aggression and horn honking, and I must admit that I was heartened by the positivity of the moment.
The man driving the white service van has my sincere admiration for what can only be described as true selflessness. I’m not sure that I’d have had the where-with-all to do what he did, given the same circumstances. Thankfully, for the sake of the imperiled
wheelchair user, it was the gentleman in the white van's day to shine.
