North Tulsa to midtown and Back: “injured in war, and as a mentor Dad”

Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: NortH Tulsa To Midtown and Back: An Injured Marine Veteran And Dad Podcast.

Anchor Podcast Transcript Below

This is the North Tulsa to Midtown and Back:. Injured in War and as a Mentor. Dad. In segment 2 of this podcast we go on a short bus trip from North 46th St Tulsa 46th Street to 41st & Midtown and Back.

Today really just started off like any of the day. Um, i was on my way to basically. Uh, pay my phone bill, do some grocery shopping. Uh, look for a job and take care of some other errands. And the available 700, brt south bus route. Was scheduled to come to 46 street, north and peoria.

To pick all this passengers up to head, to midtown Midtown is the part of tulsa, where most The retailers and shopping stores and restaurants. And things that are really accessible from the brt directly to those. Service vendors and businesses. Uh, they have assigned bus stops where passengers can go and take care of, The things that they need to take care of pay bills, pick up dinner and do other shopping.

Plus. Get to transfer point for other routes along the 700. In South Peoria, brt route. So that’s why it’s so convenient to take that bus from north tulsa. Uh, to midtown Uh, to take care of business. On my way to The. To midtown. I was getting on the bus with a few passengers, uh, A couple of females and They were commuting to midtown as well and they were headed downtown to transfer from downtown.

To Midtown. Really, i didn’t have any respondents. Except for marine veteran. Who had been injured? And, The. In the war, and He? Was basically headed back north with me. After i finished all of my shopping, But uh what had happened was that there was a officer on Tulsa police officer Involved accident with the pedestrian.

And that was crossing the row. Uh, headed to one of the convenience stores in south, tulsa off 71st and riverside. So, He said that he had, Spoken with the native american female. And she was a apparently, a homeless lady. And she was asking for, Some money for something to eat from the the marine veteran.

And, He? Out of the kindness of his heart, went into his pocket and gave her some money gave her high five and everything like that. And he had spoken our moments before the accident. Um, there was another lady Coming into the parking lot who was headed to work at the convenience store.

And she was in our middle fifties. A white woman. You know, kind of blondish. And the marine veteran was right there at the entryway with the native american speaking at the time. And, As the. Policeman was handled in. Some other another altercation over the church. Uh he did not observe the marine veteran interaction with the native american woman that occurred moments before he did a back over. For those of you that do not know what a backover incident occurs when a backing vehicle strikes a worker who is standing, walking, or kneeling behind the vehicle.

And hit the native american woman as he was back in. From the church over across into the convenience store, parking lot. But the lady coming to work, she was pulling in at the same time. As the officer hit the native american lady in the marine veteran started yelling that her To to cause her to avoid the accident.

So she swerved around the scene of the crime. Into the parking lot, at the same time as the crime was happening. And fortunately, she did not get hit by the police officer, and her vehicle was not damaged. Uh, as soon after she saw what happened. Well, she didn’t see what happened, but Um, She she moved out of the way she noticed that there was a an accident.

And so she stopped her vehicle and got out and saw the marine standing there. Who yelled at her? And uh, she thanked him for helping her avoid the accidentnt and she offered him, some free food and some free drinks and things like that from the convenience store. And then she went to work.

He was telling me that he noticed everything that happened and that the officer did not yield or anything like that for the pedestrian. Uh, but the native american lady had her back turn to the officer, so he crashed in her injuring her And as i Uh, was arriving on from the northbound bus.

Um, to that particular bus stop. The accident was occurring. And when i got off the bus, i immediately started recording And taking pictures. Of the accident to see how i could assist the victim or if the victim needed any type of support or anything like that in the future.

Um, he says that, you know, he does, he has a great mistrust for Uh, tell us the police offices. He doesn’t really know if the police officer saw her or not, and just did it on purpose. Uh, but he had a nephew. Who got into a fatal injury? Uh, car injury in dallas, texas.

And his nephew was 19 years old and he raised his nephew up until the time, he turned 19, but he had already been injured in the war. But uh he did everything he can financially and as a mentor to support the upbringing of his nephew until the time that he moved to Texas and he was really excited.

He had gone the college, and He was studying to be a urban planner. And he finally got a job in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Working for the city of texas city of dallas silly of Fort Worth. And he was making about 50 60 thousand dollars a year. And uh, One day.

He was on the highway. Coming back home from work and he noticed the lady on the highway. And, When he pulled over, it was his aunt. His auntie was on the side of the road stranded. And um, so she asked him to change her tire. To her car, he got out of his vehicle.

Of course, would have four-way and a jack and he started to jack up over vehicle and everything like that. He’s a young man. So he, you know, Although he was safe in his mind, doing everything that he could to prevent the car from being From injuring him. He wasn’t a really aware of the dangers of of oncoming traffic.

And uh, traffic. Passing by him as he was trying to change the tire. A car, slammed it in him doing 85 miles per hour, Uh, fatally injuring him and his auntie she was standing on the side by the barrier. And basically saw her nephew. Die in a fatal car injury.

He was killed trying to help her changing her tire. On the highway. And so the marine veteran got word of it because she called him and told him what happened. And he said from that point forward, He had a mistrust for responders and everything like that. And, He felt like his nephew lost his life too soon.

And so that was the story. He was telling me. And when the bus finally arrived headed back north I ended in one of my pasteles. Cards. And told them that it was my public safety foundation. And uh, The slogan on the card is make sure drivers can see you.

So, on our way, back on the bus. Um, headed back north. Um, You know, it’s kind of awkward because he had just told me that story and so and plus, we had just both witnessed, uh, Um, back over accident. With the responder and a pedestrian injured on the scene.