Photo by PoPville flickr user brunofish
“Dear PoPville,
Was biking on 11th Street NW this morning and there was a man standing in the middle of the street (in front of The Coupe) on the yellow lines, covered in gasoline, with a laundry detergent bottle, full of gasoline, trying to start a lighter at his chest. I slowly biked past him and stopped at the next corner to observe because something clearly wasn’t right. The gasoline smell was strong, even on the opposite end of the block. He walked to the sidewalk and was pacing around, in and out of the street, in front of The Coupe, then had an interaction with the employees there, and abandoned his bottle on the sidewalk and started heading south. I called 911 and then went to talk with the employees, who had offered help to the man (he refused and was looking for a lighter) and also had called the police.
As the man headed south, I biked alongside from the opposite side of street, until the police caught up (worried that someone would give him a match before the police arrived) and were able to talk with him. I’m not sure what happened next (had to keep going) but I saw heavier police presence headed in his direction… along with the fire department because he’d left behind the detergent bottle of gasoline at The Coupe and there was gasoline all over the street and sidewalk too. The man looked totally normal but was clearly really distraught and somewhat disoriented.
It was really unsettling to see someone in such a sad state and it worries me because so many other commuters were moving about during their commute and didn’t say or do anything (except the employees at The Coupe). Just a good reminder to look out for each other, even strangers, especially those who may really need help and could potentially endanger themselves or others.“