Woman Comforts Hit-and-Run Victim Until Help Arrives

Michelle Shulfer was serving meals at the Hope Center in Waukesha when she heard someone shout that a person had been hit by a car outside. Without hesitation, she rushed out to help.

A driver had struck a man near East Broadway and North East Avenue on Sunday afternoon, leaving him injured in the snow before fleeing the scene. The victim was in severe pain from a leg injury and couldn't move.

"He was in pain with his left leg. He kept saying 'my leg, my leg, my leg, my left leg!' He couldn't even bend it or move it or anything," Shulfer recalled. "He was just in so much pain."

While others called for help, Shulfer made a different choice. She knelt down beside the stranger and stayed there, refusing to leave him alone in his suffering.

"I just wanted to stay there and comfort him and make sure he was going to be okay until the help came," she said. In those frightening minutes before emergency responders arrived, her presence transformed a terrifying experience into one where someone cared.

According to Waukesha police, officers pursued the fleeing vehicle and arrested the driver after a short chase. The pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital.

Sunny's Take

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is simply show up. Shulfer wasn't a trained medical professional, but she understood something deeper: that no one should face pain alone. Her decision to stay in the cold with a stranger reminds us that compassion doesn't require expertise, just presence.

The incident has motivated Shulfer to speak out about pedestrian safety. "A lot of the cars just don't seem to pay attention to pedestrians, no matter if the lights flashing or not, and it's just very scary," she said.

Shulfer said she's praying for the victim's quick recovery, the same way she prayed with him in the snow while they waited together for help to arrive.