Woman collapses on street, people walk on by

Passersby kept passing by a woman who was clearly struggling in downtown Whangamata. Photo/Google

A woman who thought she was dying after collapsing onto a Whangamata street is disgusted people just walked on by.

Dana (not her real name), who is often a Good Samaritan to others, has had her faith in human nature badly dented. Last month, she was stricken by severe abdominal pain and called an ambulance.

"I thought I was dying, it was so bad. I didn't realise the ambulance had to come from Waihi as our local one was out on another call," Dana said.

"So when it hadn't arrived after 10 minutes or so, I thought maybe they couldn't find my address as I live upstairs above a shop."

Dana managed to get downstairs so she could wave down the ambulance. She leaned against her car but when she was hit by a sudden severe pain she collapsed on the edge of the footpath.

"I just couldn't move. It was a cold day but luckily I was wearing my hoodie so I pulled that up over my head to stay warm and just sat there huddled up.

"I could hear people walking past and others making comments. A couple of them made disparaging comments.

"One of them said 'Huh, just look at that, will you'. I was gutted - I felt really terrible and I couldn't move or call out."

Finally, someone did stop and ask if she was all right. The woman stayed with her till the ambulance arrived.

"She was really kind but I could've died in that gutter and no one would have cared," Dana said.

"All I ask is that people, if they see something like that, don't make judgments.

"Don't assume the person is a drunk or homeless person - please check they're okay."