Crazy Times When You Knew You Were Going To Die ...

wired · Feb 2, 2018

When I got hit on the head at work with a 30 lb tank lid that had blown off and i woke up in a pool of my own blood after having had convulsed for a few minutes. Tried to stand up but the pool was about 4 foot wide and I kept slipping and sliding. They hauled me off and sewed me up.

Back at work the next day

The Heretic · Feb 2, 2018

I-90

Mercer Island

Sweeping curves.

Early Saturday AM just before 7AM so no real traffic.

Road was supposedly dry since it had not rained in weeks.

I leaned my R100GS over in the curve at 80+ MPH and hit a slick spot where in the fast lane where there was a tall concrete median. Rear tire stepped out towards the median then caught traction on dry pavement. I started to stand the bike up and then...

Tank slapper at 80+ MPH!

Wahoo!

Bike was wobbling.

I was thrown off and the bike went out from under me as I rolled across four lanes.

As I slowed down I could see the bike rolling over and over again, occasionally getting air, all the way across all of the lanes to the inside of the curve. When I cam to a stop I looked up and could see a few cars coming towards me - I was laying in the middle of a four lane highway.

Fortunately the cars saw me, and slowed to a stop as I got to my feet, limped over to my bike and with some help dragged it off the highway to the shoulder.

When those things happen, in my experience, I don't really think I am going to die, but rather "oh ****!" and try to survive it.

I could have hit the median, in which case I would at least been riding away in an ambulance instead of my beat up bike. I could have been hit by a car - ditto. Neither happened. I was going to come down here to the farm for a BBQ gathering with the family but I turned around and went home. My whole left side was one big black bruise and I cracked my sternum. I wasn't in the mood for a BBQ anymore, much less driving for 6 hours.

jbett98 · Feb 2, 2018

In the 1970's I went hiking up to the top of Elowah Falls on McCord Creek in the Scenic Gorge area with a hippy friend of mine and his girlfriend.
We crossed the upper part of the falls and climbed down to where the creek rushes over the narrow lip and pours over.
My friend was sitting next to me when I stood to look straight up at a real interesting cloud that was passing overhead.
I didn't realize my intense focus on the moving cloud was determining my overall balance and since the cloud was heading north, so was I.
By the time I tried to regain my balance, I was already tipped over to far and would have taken a deadly plunge down into a shallow pool full of boulders.
Luckily, my friend had taken action and calmly informed me to quit swing my arms around, as my frantic movements were starting to rip the Levi cutoffs belt loop he had thoughtfully put his index finger around.
His next request was to his girlfriend, which he told her to grab a hold of his pony tail and to gently pull us both back to safety.
He was almost as off balance as I was by this point.
Those few moments of shear terror seemed to last forever as I could distinctly hear the popping of the belt loops stitching break free one by one.

Flymph · Feb 2, 2018

I was about 13 or so and crossing a creek with my older cousin. This was up in the Priest Lake area, on a creek with many waterfalls and huge granite slabs that create natural water slides. Well, we were crossing this creek about ten feet from a waterfall when the moss and algae gave way causing me to slip in the fast current. I slid down to the edge of a waterfall in which the current flowed directly into an underground stream. Luckily I had caught some moss just before falling completely into my certain doom. I begged my cousin to pull me up as the moss tore away, to which he laughed and told me to do it myself...
Yeah, he pulled me up as my fingers were clinging to the edge of this waterfall.
I was sure I was going to die.

I still want to go back there, being older and wiser. Most of the crap that had almost gotten me killed was somebody else's idea that I knew better than and failed to act.

Jerry · Feb 3, 2018

June 14, 1985.....bad day

BDA.45 · Feb 3, 2018

Death almost got me once, then I woke up and realized I was only dreaming about Chuck Norris......I dont dream anymore....

762mm · Feb 3, 2018

TBI followed by emergency craniotomy. Thank God a helicopter was close.

JamesG · Feb 3, 2018

Back in 1973 two buddies and I were going fishing up to place where you had to climb the side of a cliff to get to the fishing hole. If you fell you were done because it was a 50-60' drop to the rocks. One of the guys had a black lab and it went a route above us that we could not get too. As I was going across the cliff huge rocks started coming down on both sides of me. The dog was breaking them loose above me and I was stuck. I froze for who know how long and finally got up enough nerve to go backwards to safety. Ever since that day I will not go near a ledge or window on a tall building. I am 64 now and can still remember that time like it was yesterday.
Thanks:
James

bobdog308 · Feb 3, 2018

In the us army, nuff said.

Ura-Ki · Feb 4, 2018

Which time! LOL

I crash Aircraft better then any one I know!
Only one I thought I was going to die, took 11 rounds of 23 mm through our Helo and went down hard. Lost one engine, Number 2 overspooled and blew, trans got holed and we were to low to auto rotate in! Hit the ground, and two of us had to be dragged out bloody!

Creep · Feb 6, 2018

Mid 1990s, camping in the Mt Hood forest with a couple of buddies. Sitting around the fire, drinking a beer, heard someone walking through the brush maybe 20 feet outside our campsite. Three loud bangs, accompanied by muzzle flashes, impact into the log I'm sitting on, somewhere between my knees.

Rolled backwards off the log, slid down the embankment, spent an hour or more huddled in the bushes holding a rock, wondering if anyone else survived. We all made it out, I guess they did the same thing same I did, in different directions. Never found out who was shooting at us, or why, but we did find a couple of empty 7.62x39 casings.

Not sure if it was heat mirage (shooter was firing over the campfire), poor sight alignment, or what, but I'm not complaining that dude shot about two feet low. I don't go camping without a firearm, these days, and I tend to keep it handy.