# The Bystander Effect

> Lessons in leadership about why it's sometimes important to make the call (and not assume someone else already has)

**Published by:** [Hard Mode First](https://hardmodefirst.xyz/)
**Published on:** 2025-12-04
**URL:** https://hardmodefirst.xyz/the-bystander-effect

## Content

An AI-generated re-enactment of the incident (via Nano Banana with Flux)It’s not everyday that you have to make a 911 call before 9 a.m. Today, while dropping my youngest daughter off at daycare, as the doors opened on the Uptown 1 platform at 96th Street, we heard the unmistakable call for help: “Doctor or police! We need a doctor or police here!” The voice was coming from an overcrowded subway platform on the downtown track where a train was stalled. I looked across the way and saw 500+ people waiting for the train. Confused. Quieter than it should have been. My three year old asked: What’s going on, Mommy?” I told her, “Somebody needs help. Let’s go see if we can find someone to help.” As we exited the platform, I looked for signs that help was on the way, but I saw none. Meanwhile the woman continued to call out: “Doctor or police. We need doctor or police!” On our way up the stairs, I approached the MTA booth attendant to make sure she was aware of the situation. Much to my surprise, I had been the first person to reach her. As I began to explain that we need help on the downtown 1 platform, a second woman arrived and said simply, “Call 911.” While the MTA operator immediately called dispatch for help, I suddenly realized it was very likely that she was not on the phone with the EMS, so I decided to also call 911. Seconds later, I found myself talking to an 911 operator as I watched the MTA attendant make a similar call. I’ll admit: I felt a little silly doing this. I even told the dispatcher, “It sounds like the MTA dispatch may call this in too, so help may be on the way.” But they kept me on the line. They asked what I knew (which wasn’t much). But thanks to the second woman who arrived, I learned a couple of important details:A woman had hit her head and fallen in the second subway carShe was unconsciousShe was still on the train and needed helpThe police immediately transferred me to EMS, and they continued to ask more questions:How old was the woman?Had I seen her fall?Where was she now?While I didn’t have any answers, I was surprised when they asked for my full name, my phone number, and encouraged me to stay on the line. At this point, I decided that I might be more helpful with a little more information, so I reentered the subway with my three-year-old and we went down to the platform level, which was still very crowded. Most people were still milling about in the cars, and I walked to the second car until I saw the woman lying on the ground on the train. She appeared to be semi-conscious but not moving. Two MTA employees arrived first. When they did, I told them that EMS was on the way, then I left the station to take my daughter to school. By the time we reached street level, I saw a fire truck on the far entrance to the station, which made me feel better. Fifteen minutes later, after I dropped my daughter off at school, an ambulance had appeared at the close side of the platform, in the spot where I had called for help. I arrived back on the platform to take a downtown train just as I saw the injured woman be ushered away in a wheelchair by a crowd of four firefighters and two EMS professionals. She was conscious, but scared. She looked like a high school student. By that point, there was only one person remaining who had seen the original accident happen. I thought it was really great that she waited with her the whole time. To me, this was a really good reminder of the bystander effect in action: We all knew that somebody needed to call 911. But I guess we all thought somebody else had already done it. It surprised me that I had been the first to reach the attending MTA officer and escalate the situation. And that I had (seemingly) helped the EMS route medical professionals to the correct location. After all, I hadn’t seen what happened. I was literally going a different direction on the opposite track. There were 500 other people who were standing much closer to the proximal center of the accident, not to mention actual witnesses who had been on the train with her. But as it turns out, sometimes you don’t need to have all of the complete information to move forward something urgent and important. You just need to be the first to make the call.

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