美国版“小悦悦”引发良心大拷问

开篇：润墨网以专业的文秘视角，为您筛选了一篇美国版“小悦悦”引发良心大拷问范文，如需获取更多写作素材，在线客服老师一对一协助。欢迎您的阅读与分享！

The Incident

On May 30th 2008, 78-year-old Angel Arce Torres in Hartford, Connecticut, was crossing the street when he was struck by one of two vehicles[车辆] that had crossed the center line. Both vehicles failed to stop. Many vehicles drove past Torres and a number of pedestrians[行人] looked at him but did not attempt to render[给予] assistance[援助]. It was not until a police cruiser[警察巡逻车] driving past on an unrelated call arrived that any attempt to help was made.

The case provoked[激怒] widespread condemnation[谴责] for the attitude of the people in the vicinity[附近]. Daryl K. Roberts, the local police chief was quoted as saying注1 “We no longer have a moral compass.” It was later revealed that four 911 calls were made regarding the incident.

“It was one of the most despicable[卑劣的] things I’ve seen one human do to another,”the Rev.注2 Henry Brown, a community activist, said in an interview. “I don’t understand the mindset[心态] anymore. It’s kind of mindboggling[令人难以置信的]. We’re supposed to help each other. You see somebody fall, you want to offer a helping hand.”

Torres was paralyzed[使瘫痪] in the incident and never left the hospital. He died on May 11th, 2009.

For nearly a year no-one was arrested in connection with the incident. On May 16th, 2009 Hartford resident Luis Negron was charged in connection with the incident. Negron agreed to a plea bargain注3, pleading guilty to manslaughter[过失杀人] and evading[逃避] responsibility. He was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Would Bystanders Lend Hand?

Nearly a year after the hit-and-run, Angel Arce Torres’ death and a hit-and-run arrest rekindled[重新点燃] Hartford’s apathy[冷漠] debate, centering on whether the public’s reaction would differ.

Pat Haugabook, waiting at the bus stop near Danny’s Grocery, the market where Torres had bought milk moments before he was struck, said the case was all the talk of the beauty shop where she had just had her hair done. She said she was skeptical[怀疑的] about whether much has changed. The people who would have gotten involved then would do the same today, and those who stood by probably would do the same as well.

“The community has to come together―the police, families, everyone,” Haugabook said.

Others, while deploring[表示悲痛] what happened, said it didn’t typify[代表] how most people would react.

“I don’t think that incident defined the city,” said Latoya Hutchins.

She said she was downtown recently when an elderly woman tripped and fell in the middle of the street, injuring herself.

“Everybody stopped and helped her,” she said.

Her friend, Troy Hardy, agreed.

“Most people in Hartford look out for each other,”he said.

But not all of them, said Dale Smith, 21.

“You have people out here who are always about themselves,” Smith said, dressed in a dark suit. The day Torres became a victim, Smith had walked to Danny’s Grocery on his way home, then saw police had cordoned off[用警戒线隔离] the street. Maybe the store got robbed; perhaps someone was shot, Smith thought.

“It’s none of my business,” Smith concluded. Even if he had witnessed a crime, he said Friday, the idea is the same: “It’s not my responsibility.”

People are struggling, with their own problems to fret[（使）烦恼] about, Smith said. “In Hartford, that’s the way it is. With what’s going on in the world today, you don’t have time to worry about other situations. I think it’s bad. However, you can’t change the world.”

Tashara Parkman, 20, Smith’s cousin, stood nearby.

“If I was there,” Parkman said, “I would’ve called the ambulance[救护车].”

Sixty-year-old Junior Graham, a Hartford resident since 1953, walked down Park Street using his cane[拐杖].“This is a busy street out here,” Graham said. Cars speed, folks seem to be in a rush. “You can’t be worrying about crossing the street without getting hit by a car. It’s ridiculous[荒谬的].”

Chief Roberts’ uncharacteristically[异常地] harsh comments in the wake of the incident caught some in the city off guard[让……措手不及]. Mayor Eddie A. Perez held a press conference a day later and said he wanted to send a clear message to criminals:

“If you commit a crime in the city of Hartford, you will be arrested and justice will be done.”

On Friday, Perez said hundreds of people called with information after Torres’ death Monday, and he praised those people for stepping forward.

“This arrest...took longer than anybody wanted. But the peace and justice that this arrest serves is worth it,” the mayor said. “Everyone wanted the Arce family to be at peace.”

Roberts, too, had praise for the city he had “called out” a year before.

“I’m very proud of our community. I think everyone wants this to come out properly so the friends and the family can have some closure[结束]. Without the community’s help, we could not have gotten to this point,” he said. “Hartford does care.”

事件回放

2 0 0 8年5月3 0日，7 8岁的安杰尔・阿西・托里斯在康涅狄格州哈特福德市过马路时被两辆越过中心线的机动车中的一辆撞倒。两辆车都没有停下来。很多车从托里斯身旁驶过，很多行人也看到了他，但都没有施以援手。直到一辆警察巡逻车因为 另一宗呼叫经过现场，他才得救。

这次事件使人们对附近旁观者的态度纷纷表示谴责。引述当地警察局长达里尔・K・罗伯茨的话――“我们失去了道德的罗盘”。后经查证，有四人为此拨打了911报警。

“这是我见过的对待他人最卑劣的做法之一。”社区活动家亨利・布朗牧师在一次访谈中说道。“我再也搞不懂人心了。真让人难以置信。我们本该互相帮助。看到有人摔倒了，你就想伸出援助之手。”

托里斯因为这次事件瘫痪了，一直留在医院治疗，并于2009年5月11日去世。

在近一年的时间里，没有一个人因此事被捕。2009年5月16日，哈特福德当地居民路易斯・尼格伦因此案被。尼格伦同意认罪减刑，承认过失杀人及逃逸罪，被判十年监禁。

现在，你还会袖手旁观吗？

这起肇事逃逸事件过去近一年后，安杰尔・阿西・托里斯的去世以及逃逸犯的逮捕再次激起了哈特福德市关于冷漠的大讨论，探讨的焦点在于公众会否作出不同反应。

帕特・豪格布克在“丹尼杂货店”旁边的公车站等车，托里斯被撞前刚在这家杂货店买 完牛奶。她说，她刚刚在美容院做头发，里面的人都在谈论这起事件。她怀疑人们并不会洗心革面，放在如今，当事人也许还会那样做，那些袖手旁观的人也许还会做出同样的举动。

“整个社会应该团结起来――警察、每个家庭、每一个人，”豪格布克说。

其他人在对所发生的事深表痛惜的同时，也说这种行为并不能代表大多数人。

“我认为这起事件并不能定义这座城市，”拉图亚・哈琼斯说。

她最近在市中心看到一位老妇人在路中央摔倒受伤了。

“每个人都停下来帮助她，”她说。

她的朋友特洛伊・哈代也赞同她的说法。

“在哈特福德，大多数人都会相互照应，”他说。

不过，并不是所有人（都那样做），21岁的戴尔・史密斯说。

“这里有些人总是只想着自己，”穿着黑西装的史密斯说道。托里斯出事当天，史密斯在回家路上顺便去了“丹尼杂货店”，他看到警察用警戒线封路。也许这家店被抢了，或者有人遭到枪击了，史密斯这样想道。

“不关我的事，”史密斯最后说道。尽管他在那个周五目睹了一起案件，其想法依然没变：“这不关我的事。”

史密斯说，人们在为生活奔波，各人有自己的问题要烦恼。“在哈特福德，情况就是那样。要应对现今世界上发生的事情，你根本没时间担心其他状况。我也认为这样糟透了，可是你不可能改变这个世界。”

20岁的塔莎拉・帕克曼――史密斯的表妹站在旁边。

“如果我当时在场的话，”帕克曼说，“我会叫救护车的。”

60岁的朱尼尔・格雷厄姆从1953年起就住在哈特福德，他拄着拐杖沿着公园大街一路走来。“这是一条繁忙的街道，” 格雷厄姆说。车辆飞快地驶过，人们似乎也都行色匆匆。“穿过这条马路的时候，你不可能不担心会被车撞倒。那太荒谬了。”

这起事件后，罗伯茨局长异常严苛的言论让这座城市里的一些人颇为意外。埃迪・A・佩里斯市长在第二天就召开了新闻会，以向罪犯传达一个明确的信息：

“如果你在哈特福德犯了罪，一定会被捉拿归案，公义一定会得到伸张。”

佩里斯说，托里斯在周一去世后，那个周五，有数百人向警方提供讯息。他对这些愿意挺身而出的人表示赞赏。

“这次逮捕……花的时间比任何人想的都要长。但这也是值得的，因为遗属得到安慰，正义得到伸张，”市长说。“每个人都希望阿西的家人能好过一点。”

罗伯茨也对一年前他“斥呵”过的这座城市表示赞许。

“我为我们的城市感到非常骄傲。我认为每个人都希望这事能水落石出，让（死者的）亲朋不再伤怀。没有大家的帮助，我们不可能走到今天这一步，”他说。“哈特福德并不冷漠。”

注1：sb. was quoted as saying意即“（引述）某人说……”，是新闻的套语，强调其报道的客观性。

注2：Rev.是Reverend的缩写，意思是“尊敬的；牧师，神职人员”，用作对牧师或神父的尊称，前面与the连用。

注3：坦白从宽，用于法律文件中，指（以被告承认犯有轻罪而获从轻处罚的）认罪辩诉协议。