NORTHAMPTON — When Peter Maduka Jr. saw a car flipped over in the street Thursday, he chose to be more than just a bystander.
Instead, Maduka sprang into action, helping the woman inside out of her car after determining that it was safe for him to do so.
Maduka, who is leaving the area next week to attend medical school at Rowan University in New Jersey, was returning home from his day at Eye Physicians of Northampton in Florence where he works as an ophthalmic technician.
“I was just heading back from work,” he said.
Maduka said that when he was studying for his medical school exam he learned about the bystander effect, which he described as people thinking that other people are doing what needs to be done.
The accident involved a collision between a black Toyota Camry and a tan Subaru Forester at the intersection of Florence and Westhampton roads, according to police. The Forester flipped onto its roof, and police say the occupants of the vehicles did not suffer serious injuries.
When Maduka saw the flipped car he pulled his vehicle over. He said that the driver of the car that remained upright seemed shaken and didn’t know whether anyone was in the flipped over car.
Maduka then investigated and found an older woman in the car. He said takeout food was scattered everywhere from the crash.
Maduka asked the woman if she was OK and if she could move her limbs. The woman did so, and Maduka said that he didn’t see bleeding or other signs of serious injury.
Maduka said he didn’t want to leave the woman in the inverted vehicle.
“I was really worried,” Maduka said, who expressed concern about fire.
So, he said, he opened the door and helped her to get out, as it appeared medically safe to do so.
“She was visibly shaking,” Maduka said.
He then found her phone for her and, when she went to call her daughter and found that it was still connected to her Bluetooth system, he disconnected it for her, as he said the woman was shaken and confused.
A woman who identified herself as a doctor then asked to examine the crash victim, while a man began directing traffic around the accident.
After the authorities arrived, Maduka went home.
A Nigerian immigrant and father of twins, Maduka, 30, became a United States citizen in 2015. He has lived in the Pioneer Valley for nearly seven years, where he attended and received his degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Maduka also started a nonprofit this year, MaduCare, which he described as a platform for proactive health care and health outreach, with a special focus on education. He visited Nigeria with the nonprofit this year for several weeks.
Maduka also expressed the hope of establishing a medical center in his Nigerian hometown in the future.
As for what he will study in medical school, Maduka expressed an interest in ophthalmology and cardiology, but said he will be focusing on studying hard.
Correction: The name of the nonprofit founded by Peter Maduka is MaduCare.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.