MTA buses routinely run back and forth on Pennington Avenue in South Baltimore, but when Petty Officer 1st Class Sarah Morin found one blocking her path home from the U.S. Coast Guard Yard on Friday night, she knew something was wrong.
A man directing traffic told her a car had just struck a pedestrian.
"He said that there was a man that obviously had injuries and he thought he was dying so I pulled over in front of the bus and got out and I asked if there was anything I could help out with,” said Morin, “There was already a guy standing over (him) offering assistance, and the man providing assistance said that I could hold his hand and keep him under control."
Morin comforted the bleeding man for about 15 minutes and left him with words of re-assurance when paramedics arrived on the scene, but her service was far from over.
"I remember leaving and hearing someone mention a white vehicle,” said Morin, “So I'm proceeding home and I make a really sharp turn on one of the roads and I noticed this white vehicle in a shadow."
The car had noticeable damage, and Morin says she identified herself as a member of the Coast Guard to the woman behind the wheel and ended up talking her into returning to the scene.
"We walked back. I helped her gather her personal belongings, and we walked back and that was it,” said Morin, “I think that she needed somebody to help her... you know... the strength to go back to the scene and the man also needed strength in that time."
Police took the driver into custody and paramedics transported the victim to a local hospital where, at last report, police say it appeared the man would survive a serious head injury.
Morin says her actions on Friday night were instinctive.
She simply wanted to help, and that's what made her a compassionate voice in the ears of both the victim and the alleged suspect when they needed it the most.
