15 People Talk About the Mistake That Nearly Killed Them

Have you ever had a close call with death? A situation that you shouldn’t have been in at all, and were lucky to get out of. I was in a pretty bad van accident when I was younger, and it was definitely a moment that made me take stock of my fleeting mortality.

AskReddit users opened up and shared their personal stories about big mistakes that almost cost them their lives.

1. Electric shock

“Many years ago I owned a pub.

I went upstairs to the house area to find all the lights were off. I flicked the trip switches to turn the lights back on; which they did. I then heard running water from my co owners fishtank in the lounge, turns out the protein skimmer had flipped over and was spilling water over the wall socket.

Instincively (and very stupidly) went to turn off the plug and as soon as i touched it got sent flying over the back of the sofa.

Dont know how im still alive to this day.”

2. Not very bright

“As teenagers we used to smoke pot in the garage in the car with it running for hours. No idea how we didn’t kill everyone in the house multiple times over.”

3. Dear old Dad

“My dad got trashed and tried to jump over the fence at Yankee Stadium with his friends. He failed and an iron spike punctured him. He remembers being rushed to the hospital and bleeding everywhere. Everyone thought he was going to die of blood loss. Didn’t die but he also made several more stupid mistakes such as riding a motorcycle without a helmet and breaking several ribs etc etc. Honestly he is still stupid and I’m surprised he hasn’t died yet.”

4. Iraq

“Driving over an IED in Iraq that’s battery had gone bad in the heat. If the battery was live i wouldn’t be.

Edit: a lot of people are wondering how i knew that it was there when it didn’t go off, so here is the answer to that.

I was in a rural area. I didn’t see some disturbed dirt in the dirt road that we were driving on, but my lieutenant in the passenger seat almost shit his pants because his life flashed before his eyes. He literally curled into a ball in his seat. I asked him what was up. And he said he was sure that there was something back there. We were currently escorting troop carriers to drop off a foot patrol in the middle of nowhere, so after we completed our drop off we went back on his order to check out the spot. My truck was the only one with an RF jammer, so i took the lead up to the spot my lieutenant had seen. When i say it i thought to myself, “Holy fuck, how did i not see that?” I was the “demo” guy since we didn’t have enough EOD in the area, so i went up to it, saw the pressure plate and wires. Dug it up and there is was. A battery with the battery acid all leaked out. They didn’t bury it deep enough, and it was the middle of summer.

About 130f out. Not good for the battery. Under the battery and pressure plate was a box, about the size of a footlocker filled with explosives and accelerant. If it had gone off my whole truck would have been dust. We had to do a controlled demo since EOD was busy, and after we took it out half the road had a 5 foot deep crater in it.”

5. Close call

“Pissing off a cliff, wasted on Jack Daniels. My girlfriend at the time pulled me back by my sweatshirt, or that would’ve been it.”

6. Swept away

“Climbed onto one of those underpasses that allow river water to flow through when I was like, 5. Got swept in the current and taken down the river. Only reason I survived is my dad saw my long hair barely under the current and jumped in to save me.”

7. Be careful with the laundry chute

“Playing with the laundry chute in my childhood home when I was around 5 years old. My cousins and I took turns dropping things down the chute while someone else stood at the bottom and dodged them. For the most part it was things like washcloths, stuffed animals, a clothing item, etc.

Just so happened that when I stood under the chute, my cousin dropped a 5 lb dumbbell down and I, expecting something harmless, didn’t get out of the way. That ended the game real quick. I now part my hair in a way that hides the bald spot scar on my head.”

8. Actually died

“I fell down my friends basement stairs when I was 8 (hit my head on the concrete floor) and ended up being airlifted to a major city hospital after being knocked out and still screaming. Ended waking up a couple days later and found out I was missing a tooth and I was told that as they were putting a breathing tube in, it knocked my tooth down my throat which scared the docs more. But I was super happy cause I payed melee for the first time in the game room and ate jellow for meals.

Turns out that I was actually in a comatose state and gradually got worse over 48 hours until I had 0 brain activity for about 6 minutes. So I guess I did die but I didn’t find out from my family till afterwards, because who tells an 8 yr old that they died.”

9. Big mistake

“3 years old. Love M&Ms. Find blue ones behind stove. Yum.

Rat poison.”

10. Toilet accident

“Carrying a toilet by myself after having painted the bathroom. Got caught up in the drop cloth and fell on the toilet smashing it and a piece of the porcelain cut into my knee. My father was there with me and immediately took me to the hospital as the bleeding was pretty decent.

The doctor told me that the piece missed an artery by 1/4” and that if I had been a smaller man I’d have bled out before I made it to the hospital. Being a very large man (6’2” and 350lbs at the time) saved my life.”

11. Joe vs. The Volcano

“I nearly fell into a f*cking volcano leaning on a rope fence

Edit: Holy sh*t this comment blew up. Right, more context, I was 8-9 at the time, and I managed to catch myself on that same fence after I nearly keeled over it (I never let go of stuff when I fall). This was in Italy, hence the lack of actual safety procedures.”

12. Skateboarding accident

“This was 13 years ago. I was skateboarding with some buddies at a busy shopping center. A few minutes before leaving, we were waiting at a crosswalk to cross the street. One of my friends takes off running across the crosswalk, and my other buddies follow suit. So I took off as well. I was not even paying attention to the light, but the lane crossing the crosswalk was on a green light.

My two friends in front were in the clear, but myself and one of my other friends were both hit by a Uhaul truck (yes really, trust me I got shit for YEARS about getting hit by a huge, bright orange truck) going probably 40-45mph. My friend in front of me didn’t get hit too bad. I got hit square in the chest. I had no clue at the time what even had happened. I was running, then I was on the ground in a daze, no pain, and I even got up and instinctually ran back to the sidewalk that I had come from. No clue I’d been hit by a truck, I was more just like what in the fuck just happened.

A nurse that was at the light came and helped me, told me what had happened and helped me stay calm. She asked if I was having trouble breathing. I was. But it was attributed to me having asthma. Later found out it was because both of my lungs were punctured.

Anyways, the ambulance shows up. I’m holding up very well, no clue why. Kinda just thinking okay damn I must have gotten super lucky. I’m conscious, talking fine, no biggie. They only had one bed in the ambulance, so my buddy was lying on it, and I was sitting hunched over on the bench for the ride (I wish I was joking). We get to the hospital, and I try to pull myself up to get out of the ambulance.

And I can’t, my shoulders hurt way too bad. The EMS guys tell me I probably dislocated my shoulder and that I’ll just have to get it popped in and before I know it I’ll be back home. Once inside, WE GET PUT IN THE WAITING ROOM. No I am not joking. We had skateboards with us, and the desk people had no clue. They assumed we just fell on our skateboards or something.

So I’m still feeling pretty good, other than some sore shoulders, just chilling there watching wheel of fortune. When all of a sudden I start feeling super clammy and disorientied. I remember hearing my mom screaming “HE’S GOING INTO SHOCK”, and then next thing I know I’m being wheeled down a bunch of hallways. It was like in shows where it’s a blur of those florescent lights just flashing overhead one at a time.

I start having severe pain. Like the worst pain you could imagine. But I can’t be given an painkillers yet, because I have to go through a bunch of tests first. I’d assume these tests should have been done right when I got there, but what do I know. The one I really remember is having to be picked up off of the bed and put onto one of the machines that required I be on my back. They had people grab each corner of the sheet from the bed that I was on to move me onto it. I remember it kind of squishing my shoulders inward a bit and holy shiiiiiiiiit that was the worst pain I’ve ever felt.

Anyways, after a ton of tests, it’s found out that both of my lungs are punctured. Both of my collar bones are snapped in half. Broken ribs. Cracked sternum. Concussion. The works. Ended up spending the next couple weeks in ICU.

They didn’t have any hospital beds open for me at the time so I actually ended up being transferred to a children’s hospital. It was fucking sweet. People came and sang to me and brought me teddy bears n shit. And I was just jacked up on morphine watching Lord of Rings all the time.

But yeah it was a pretty tough recovery, and I went from just hanging out with a smile on my face to a scary place real quick. I went to a world-renowned clavicle specialist at Duke Medical for my collar bones. He normally had an insanely long wait list, but apparently when he found out that I broke both at the same time he was willing to see me ASAP.

He told me that he’d only ever had a few patients that broke both at the same time, because the force required to do so almost always resulted in death. But eventually I got better, full recovery. Was a bit of a hypochondriac for a while, and was scared to cross the street for awhile. But other than that, no biggie.”

13. Always wear a helmet

“Not wearing a helmet while on a bicycle and stupidly turning left just as a car overtook me.

Somehow I only got a neat scar through my eyebrow and some torn up kneecaps from it. But the look on my mother’s face when she picked me up from the hospital…That made me realise how profoundly stupid I was that day.

Edit: I did make a turn signal with my arm, but the driver apparently didn’t see it. He later went over to the hospital to ask if I was OK and to apologise for hitting me.”

14. Tangled up

“Tubing behind a speedboat. Pulled myself too far forward. It submarined and popped up in the air. I was flung forward and got tangled in the towrope.”

15. The garage door

“Retensioning a garage door spring and the tension tool popped out. The door crashed with enough force to crack the pavement.

Edit: had no idea so many others have died doing this. Going forward would never do this again.”

The post 15 People Talk About the Mistake That Nearly Killed Them appeared first on UberFacts.

August 7, 2018

The Exact Scariest Moment of These 15 People’s Lives

Some of these people have had some seriously terrifying, rough days. And to you, my friends, I offer a trigger warning – beware going forward if you’ve experienced any serious trauma (like suicide or other violent death) in your own life.

#15. It’s a void.

“An accident in which I lost 2 full weeks of memory. I have seen pictures where I’m in a wheelchair being pushed around the hospital by my parents and brother, I have my eyes open, I’m laughing, but I remember literally zero of it. Nothing. It’s a void.”

#14. They still scare me.

“I was at an airport and a woman’s leg got stuck in the escalator. I remember a lot of blood and her screaming and watching her pray to god as the paramedics wheeled her away.

Escalators still scare me.

Edit: I also just remembered another detail, people were pressing the stop button and it didn’t stop.”

#13. Glad to this day.

“As a child, around 12, I was walking back to school, from a tennis lesson. The route was around a km and some.

I just started on my way back, and this car soon comes by and pulls over. A senior, possibly in his late 60s is the only occupant.

He asks where I’m going, and if I need a lift. I politely decline, then he started asking other questions. Being oblivious, I answer him, discussing my father’s work, what my mother did with her time, and how many siblings I had. Didn’t think anything of it for so many years, till around 2 years ago, the memory popped up in my head.

Only then did the gravity of what was happening at the time come home. He was trying to familiarize himself with me, and in some way grooming me to see him as a friend.

I’m still glad to this day that I never got into that car.”

#12. It haunts and horrifies me.

“Watching my 7 y.o niece have her arm mauled by an 80 lb dog. Desperately smashing its head with a broken shovel to get it to release her. Having to use my hand to hold her upper arm to stop the loss of blood looking ar yee mutilated flesh. It haunts and horrifies me. Everytime I hear a child yell or scream I have a moment panic that goes to.my core. Every time I look at her arm I feel deeply saddened and sickened.”

#11. As dumb as I was.

“When I was 10 or 11, I was at the mall with my mom. We were in Venture, near the entrance to the mall. Some guy in his early 20s or late teens was standing there at the entrance, my mom a few aisles over. He started talking to me, asking if I wanted to go to the arcade with him. He claimed to know my brother, that he went to school with him. Me, being young and stupid, pipes up with “oh, you know _______ (my brothers name)”. He’s like yeah I know _______!

As dumb as I was, I was thankfully at least smart enough to go and ask my mom if it was okay. She freaked and went over to where he was, and of course he was gone.”

#10. Always wear a helmet.

“About two years back, I saw a live road accident involving a bike and a truck. The biker’s head was squished like a water melon. This was too disturbing to see. A human body in a shape like that. I will never forget that sight.

ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET GUYS!”

#9. The sound.

“A man jumped/fell from a building in New York and landed about three metres behind me. The sound when he hit, and the way he hit half on the sidewalk, half on the road, and his body had moulded to the kerb and just..spread out.

This happened in 1998 and I can still remember every detail..”

#8. Every time I think about it.

“Directly behind my house is a huge recreation area with miles and miles of hiking trails. People have gone missing there in recent years and they’ve found bodies there too. One day about two years ago I fell asleep on the couch accidentally and at like two AM, my dogs went absolutely crazy barking at the front door and they wouldn’t shut up so I got up to see what it was. There was a man standing in my doorway with the screen door already opened in his hand- like I caught him the second between opening my screen door and opening the door to my house, which I had accidentally left unlocked because like I said, I accidentally fell asleep. I was totally out of it and still half asleep so the situation didn’t really dawn on me and the first thing out of my mouth was “Oh, hey. What do you need?” Then I woke up and realized what the hell was going on and slammed my door shut in his face and locked it and called 911. The dude left and the police never found anyone. I obviously don’t know why that man was on my doorstep but the fact that he could have taken me into that park very easily and no one would have known until it was too late shakes me up every time I think about it.”

#7. So dang creepy.

“I was going through a hard time and needed money. I saw an ad in a local paper that said “buying musical instruments. Any condition. Call ####.” So, I called to sell my guitar. I talked to a man on the phone, and he seemed nice enough. He asked about the condition and what model it was and what not. He said he wanted to buy it and agreed to meet me at a guitar center near by.

So, I meet this guy in the parking lot and I show him my guitar. He asks, “why are you trying to sell your guitar?” I tell him that I am going through a hard time. He then says, “well, you could stay with me if you want.” I say, “um, no sir. Are you still going to buy my guitar?” He ignores me and says, “How about you jack me off and I’ll give you $50.” I calmly reply, “No. Are you going to buy this or not?” So he asks, “How about you watch me jack off in my car and I’ll give you $50.” To which I replied, “No! What the FUCK?!” I grabbed my guitar, went into the store and waited inside until he left.

He stayed in that parking lot for a bit too. So dang creepy. I called that paper and got his ad removed.”

#6. Life is a funny thing.

“When I was 22, just graduated college, I began my job search. Within the first 3 weeks out of college, I was lucky to find a job relatively close to where my family lived. I still lived at home to help pay off my loans, and as a recent grad, I was more concerned with getting a job than getting my own place.

My older brother and I are both very close, basically best friends. We decided to celebrate with a long night of gaming 3 nights before my “big boy job” started. He doesn’t live at home with us, so it was going to be some good ol’ online gaming.

I was planning on playing his voice audio over the speakers in my room, but it wasn’t working. My younger brother (16 at the time) was in the room with me and wanted to hear my older brothers voice. For whatever reason, we couldn’t get it to work because he would hear himself through my microphone. So instead, we were going to use a headphone method instead, both wearing headsets. We were seconds from putting those headsets on when we heard a faint scream. It was a strange sound, and we were unsure what was going on.

When we ran down the stairs (we were on the second floor of the house) we searched frantically for what that noise was. My parents were on the front porch with friends, so we knew it wasn’t them. The only other person who was home was my younger sister (~20 years old) who at the time was going through A LOT of dark times.

We both ran down into the basement, turned the corner, and saw my sister hanging 2 feet above the ground with an electrical extension cord around her neck. Chair was knocked over, and she was frantically clawing at her neck. Her face was swollen purple, it was a horrific thing to see. My brother FROZE, and I ran up and grabbed her, lifted her up on my tippy toes to give some slack to the cord, and yelled for him to get my parents. I had to yell a few times for him to finally go and get my mom and dad. She ended up surviving. When emergency personnel came to assess the situation, and take her to the hospital to check for brain damage and injuries, the first officer on the scene pulled me aside, shook my hand, and said she could have been dead in seconds. He said he was happy to finally come to one of these scenes where the person survived.

The story goes on from there. Had we not had audio issues in my room, I wonder how this situation would have been different. I mean it, we were seconds from putting on the headsets.

Life is a funny thing.”

#5. When I was thirteen…

“When I was thirteen I found my best friend hanging from a belt in my closet. I thought it was a joke at first until I pushed him and he started swinging. He had just knelt down and let it happen. I got him down and pulled the belt loose and there was a nasty mark and I think that was when I realised how serious it was. Ran and told parents to call 911. Ran back upstairs and could hear some gurgling noises coming from him. He was in a coma for a week but he lived thank God. To top it off a lot of people including his parents blamed me.”

#4. A BLACK MAMBA.

“Not as morbid as some of the others in this thread but probably getting stuck in the shower ( technically a wet room) with a black mamba while on holiday aged 8. That was pretty terrifying.”

#3. Four years later.

“When I was crossing a road and a car came screaming around the corner didn’t see me and hit me. This happened right outside my sons school. He saw the accident but didn’t know it was me ( I was in all black gym clothes ). Concision, head trauma, obliterated my left shoulder ACL and tore my ACL in my left knee. Huge bruise from hip to lower calf.

Hospital said they only thing that saved me was I didn’t see it coming so was not expecting it and was basically a rag doll. Turns out the driver was not insured, suspended license and the car wasn’t his.

I still shit myself 4 years later when crossing the road.”

#2. The last time.

“Finding my six week old baby deceased. Trying to do cpr on his obviously lifeless little body while on the phone with 911 while I listened to my husband and kids screaming in agony. Holding him against me trying to warm him and knowing this was the last time I would ever have him in my arms.”

#1. Never knowing.

“I was a freshman in college when I received a series of mysterious/threatening phone calls. At the time, I was pledging my fraternity and assumed that some of the brothers were pranking me. The calls always came from a restricted number. The calls were innocuous enough at first – asking me how I was enjoying the pledging experience, etc. Over time, they got more and more threatening, telling me that I was going to be murdered/threatening to hurt me. The actual weirdest part, though, was that the mysterious caller started calling random people in my life and telling them that I was in love with them (there was no pattern to who these people were and I was certainly not in love with these people). A lot of these people were men (I am queer but was deeply in the closet at the time and definitely no brothers knew that). I only found out because these people, many of whom I hadn’t spoken to in awhile, independently called me asking me why they were receiving these weird calls/voicemails.

Eventually, I confronted the fraternity’s president telling him to let the brothers know to knock it off. He was genuinely confused and assured me that no one was pranking me. Eventually, the calls stopped, but to this day, I wonder how the caller (A) knew so much about my personal life and (B) why he would invest so much time and energy into something so pointless. I genuinely hope I figure out who it is one day but have resigned myself to never knowing.”

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