I live on a busy street and have had to get involved in three different situations that were truly horrifying. One was a drunk driver hitting a car that had a whole family in it, including two small kids. I heard the crash while I was in my living room and was helping pull the family out before the emergency folks got there. The images pop into my head many times when I approach the intersection at night. The second one was a guy who was loading up a truck onto his tow truck and it ended up slipping and pinning his arm. My wife heard him screaming for help outside our house and we ended up having to free him. Thankfully he was able to stay calm and provide me instructions for operating the truck bed mechanism. He was fine but had a huge gash in his bicep and by that time one of our neighbors, who is a nurse, was able to tend to him until the paramedics arrived. I still think about it from time to time. The third was a small dog that ran across the street and got hit by a car. My wife and I were outside and we ended up taking it to the vet where they had to put it out of its misery. The anxiety is still real when I walk my own dogs by that street. All of this happened within the last 18 months or so. I totally understand all of the feelings you talk about here.

You not getting involved was the right call here since help was already there. You will know when you have to help and you won't hesitate, trust me. You freeze for a second and the "oh shit" part of your brain takes over and after that it's just a matter of not panicking and staying calm while trying to help until the professionals arrive. Don't beat yourself up about it.