Have You Ever Almost Died

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

I got rear ended by one of those huge trucks that take garbage to the dump. The trunk ended up just behind the front seat. Fortunately it was my land yacht surfer-mobile. Loved that 74 Caddy-mint condition. In a smaller car I would've been dead.

I don't mean to sound like a real jerk here, but that bolded part -- do you mean a "garbage truck"?

Sounds like a rad car. That sucks.

[Ben_in_Canada]

Nearly killed someone?
M1 highway from the Gold Coast to Brisbane (in Aus). The road was empty of vehicles (11pm on a Thursday night) so I put my head down & bum up, was doing 240kph (bike) when some clown decided to walk across a 6 lane highway. Missed him by about 3 feet. I was over 500 metres past him before I realised what had just happened.
Ever almost died?
Many times, I was a reckless youth.
The one instance that had the most effect on me was again a biking incident. It invloved gravel on a poorly lit corner, a power pole and a tree.
I lost control coming out of the corner as my front tire started to skip on the gravel and I went into a tank slapper, I ended up hitting the power pole first, smashing my leg and then crashing into a tree.
I called an ambulance when I came to and realised I couldn't get up. The ambulance took 34 minutesd to find me, about 20 minutes into that wait I tried to roll to face the road, as I swung my legs over I saw one was 'swinging in the breeze'. This freaked me out and nearly sent me into shock. Two days later (the rest of that night, next day is hazy at best) I wake up to find my right leg gone, just below the knee and my left arm plastered up. I had also suffered a compact fracture of my wrist (radius and ulna) and now had two plates and four screws holding my wrist/hand together. Weeks later a friend was checking out my helmet and pointed out that the right side had been shattered in as well.
In total I spent over 120 hours on the operating table, had a major graft to close my leg, and about 200 stitches.
Suprisingly I was fitted with a prosthesis within two months and was walking again quite soon after.
I have really mellowed out since.

tl;dr - crashed my bike, broke a couple of bones & nearly bled to death

[Ben_in_Canada]

Originally Posted by La Flames Fan

Closest I felt was this:
Got bored and decided to head down to the little bar to see what was going on and hopped into my step brother's jeep.

He has a prosthetic on his right leg so drives the opposite way, gas on the left, brake on the right. I get in the front passenger seat, someone else driving, and two guys in the back. We head out and start driving down a gravel road, almost side swipe a tree and...

I used to have this, my instincts got the better of me out 4wding one day. About to head down the side of a hill, I go to brake and instead floor the gas and have a head on with a tree . Fortunately not fast enough to injure anyone, unfortunately fast enough to do 7 grand damage

[J epworth]

Originally Posted by Ben_in_Canada

Nearly killed someone?
M1 highway from the Gold Coast to Brisbane (in Aus). The road was empty of vehicles (11pm on a Thursday night) so I put my head down & bum up, was doing 240kph (bike) when some clown decided to walk across a 6 lane highway. Missed him by about 3 feet. I was over 500 metres past him before I realised what had just happened.
Ever almost died?
Many times, I was a reckless youth.
The one instance that had the most effect on me was again a biking incident. It invloved gravel on a poorly lit corner, a power pole and a tree.
I lost control coming out of the corner as my front tire started to skip on the gravel and I went into a tank slapper, I ended up hitting the power pole first, smashing my leg and then crashing into a tree.
I called an ambulance when I came to and realised I couldn't get up. The ambulance took 34 minutesd to find me, about 20 minutes into that wait I tried to roll to face the road, as I swung my legs over I saw one was 'swinging in the breeze'. This freaked me out and nearly sent me into shock. Two days later (the rest of that night, next day is hazy at best) I wake up to find my right leg gone, just below the knee and my left arm plastered up. I had also suffered a compact fracture of my wrist (radius and ulna) and now had two plates and four screws holding my wrist/hand together. Weeks later a friend was checking out my helmet and pointed out that the right side had been shattered in as well.
In total I spent over 120 hours on the operating table, had a major graft to close my leg, and about 200 stitches.
Suprisingly I was fitted with a prosthesis within two months and was walking again quite soon after.
I have really mellowed out since.

Do you still bike after the fact? I don't know if you would even be able to with a prosthesis safely, but wow that would definitely be a life changing event for anyone. What a story.

[jamoro]

Driving on deerfoot I had my right front tire explode. it was weird tho, because I never lost control when it happened. just the car was a little harder to steer, but i was not serving.
I always thought that it could of been a lot worse and just glad i got through it without even an accident

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by jamoro

Driving on deerfoot I had my right front tire explode. it was weird tho, because I never lost control when it happened. just the car was a little harder to steer, but i was not serving.
I always thought that it could of been a lot worse and just glad i got through it without even an accident

and yet you post this in the "Have You Ever Almost Died" thread......

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by jamoro

Driving on deerfoot I had my right front tire explode. it was weird tho, because I never lost control when it happened. just the car was a little harder to steer, but i was not serving.
I always thought that it could of been a lot worse and just glad i got through it without even an accident

You had a flat tire, not a near death experience.

[jamoro]

Originally Posted by Iginla

You had a flat tire, not a near death experience.

It could of been, that's my point

[Nage Waza]

I had the fortunate experience of surviving hurricane Mitch. I was pretty much smack dab in the middle of it. Thousands of people died, the world was completely destroyed around me.

Just prior to that I fell into a mine shaft and got stuck in vines. I had no idea how deep it went, but when I looked down I saw that there was a BIG snake in there with me.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by jamoro

It could of been, that's my point

My god, that sounds harrowing. Did you have a spare?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Sliver

My god, that sounds harrowing. Did you have a spare?

that's the worst part.........it was only a donut.............

[jamoro]

Originally Posted by sliver

my god, that sounds harrowing. Did you have a spare?

no!!! The horror

[Ben_in_Canada]

Originally Posted by J epworth kendal

Do you still bike after the fact? I don't know if you would even be able to with a prosthesis safely, but wow that would definitely be a life changing event for anyone. What a story.

No.
I looked into a thumb brake (like Mick Doohan had). I met a few guys who had made this conversion, also considered switching to cruisers (I had always ridden crotch rockets). I decided it was better to give them away altogether.
TBH, I don't think I would have the nerve to do half the stuff I used to.

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by jamoro

Driving on deerfoot I had my right front tire explode. it was weird tho, because I never lost control when it happened. just the car was a little harder to steer, but i was not serving.
I always thought that it could of been a lot worse and just glad i got through it without even an accident

Were they Firestones? Those did in a lot of people. They blew up more fashionably in hot weather too

[Red Slinger]

1) Guy ran a red light and sideswiped me in an intersection as I was going about 90. I did a 720 degree turn while spinning into oncoming traffic. I had no control of the vehicle but fortunately all of the drivers going the other direction managed to stop or avoid me my car, or what was left of it, until it came to a stop in the ditch. I had 3 people in the car with me and we all walked away. Later that night we went out and drank heavily.

2) While hiking near Panorama me and a buddy surprised a bear that was eating a moose carcass. Fortunately, it ran away but we were later told by a conservation officer that it was one of the most dangerous situations in which to encounter a bear. Later that night we went out and drank heavily.

3) This one I don't remember as I was too young. I was two years old and we were living in Rome, Italy for a year while waiting for immigration to Canada. My parents, older sister and grandmother were on a train heading somewhere. In those days, the mafia were hired as security to 'protect' the train and passengers from (less professional) criminals. We happened to be in a car with one of the mafioso who decided to light up a cigarette. He opened the train door to get some air, or something. Apparantely, I bolted for the open door while we were travelling at full speed. My grandmother grabbed me by the scruf of my shirt as I had one foot out the door. The 'security guard' barely flinched.

I'm guessing that most people are unaware of how many real close calls that they've had.

[Hemi-Cuda]

when i was a teenager i was helping my dad change out the transmission in his logging truck. i was underneath slowly lowering the jack that the transmission was on and he was up top keeping it level. well the jack broke, the 1-ton transmission fell off and landed inches away from my head. he had someone else help him with installing the new one

[wireframe]

Last month I was making some beer and I dropped a carboy (big glass bottle) about an inch. Problem is that it fell onto a granite counter so it shattered while it was still in my arms. everything seemed okay so I went about cleaning the glass up. Then I noticed a river of blood pouring out of my right wrist. I grabbed a sock off the floor to stop the bleeding, stumbled over to the phone on the wall and called 911. Later i noticed that I could see the bones in my thumb and pinky. The first thing the paramedic said was 'why didn't you wait outside!?' Yeah, real nice. Anyway, everything worked out fine and I am back to 90%. My right wrist is still weak and I cant put my ring on my pinky any more.

Now I only clean carboys when someone else is home.

[Shaggin Wagon]

Several years back, I was working for an Oil company during stampede. I got invited to several Oil Co. sponsered parties. I drank for about 6 hours until I blacked out. After we left the last party, I tried to walk into traffic. If that Newphie wasn't there to grab me I would have been run down by a gravel truck.