Hats Off to First Responders

The maple tree listed at a 45-degree angle, its bark sheared off of one side exposing the raw phloem underneath. On the sidewalk lay a hairbrush, a torn purse strap, and broken beer bottles scattered about. Under those were spatters of dried blood. Looking closer, it was clear that there were many of these rust-coloured stains upon this stretch of footpath on the edge of Sheffield.
  The boys stared at what was obviously the aftermath of a horrible accident. Drunk teens carousing in the back of a pickup hurtling down the road from Hurffville. Supposedly Pal’s sister was among the revelers.
  But this was the yard of Mrs DeJung. What dumb luck! She happened to be the nurse at Academie Cloches. The boys wondered aloud about the scene the night before. The screeching of brakes, impact of metal against wood, teenagers screaming, and the eventual sirens and flashing lights of first responders.
  But the responder who acted first had to be Mrs DeJung herself.
  There were no reported fatalities from the incident. Surely Mrs DeJung deserves some credit for that.
  Hats off to quick-thinking bystanders!