The hit-and-run of a 78-year-old man in Hartford has many asking: Why did no one help?
The incident has attracted attention across the country and was captured on video.
In the video Angel Arce Torres was hit around 5:45 p.m. on May 30. Pedestrians gawk but appear to do nothing. One driver stops briefly but then pulls back into traffic. A man on a scooter slowly circles the victim before zipping away.
John Fitch, of the American Medical Response in Bridgeport, says fear can play a part in causing witnesses to keep walking.
?People were horrified to see what happened and there's a natural fear of that happening to them,? Fitch says. ?Maybe they were a little afraid to get involved at that point.?
Torres, a retired forklift operator, is seen walking in the two-way street just blocks from the state Capitol after buying milk at a grocery. The video shows a tan Toyota and a dark Honda that is apparently chasing it veer across the center line. Torres was struck by the Honda. Both cars then dart down a side street.
Not until about 40 seconds into the video does someone walk over.
?I would have stopped and tended to the man and definitely called the police,? says one resident.
In the video, police arrive a minute and a half after the man was hit.
While officials say four people did call 911, no one immediately ran to the aid of the victim, and after talking to residents of Hartford, they say it doesn't speak well for society.
Gov. Rell announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the hit-and-run driver.