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Brushes with death - possibly


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Posted

Following on from RussH's "Brushes with Fame" I wondered if anybody has had any experiences that really could have resulted in death.

 

My closest ones (not car related) were:

 

1983 I was in London doing some Christmas shopping and came around the corner to go into Harrods when the car bomb went off, just a few seconds was the difference between being a victim and trying to help the victims.

 

I also electrocuted myself putting a drive belt back on the drum of a washing machine having forgotten to to unplug it!

 

I don't remember pain just a violent shaking that felt as if it was coming from inside me, I guess that was muscles going into spasm? I was aware what was happening but had difficulty getting my arms from inside the machine, I remember eventually getting free and sort of walking out of the kitchen with arms outstretched in front of me, then nothing until I woke up with the Mrs crying over me, she said that I wasn't breathing and had turned blue, but then suddenly my arms relaxed and I took a huge breath of air.

 

I have scars on my left wrist from the burns where I was touching the live and neutral wires/connectors and had at the time a small hole burnt out of the tip of my right index finger where it must have been earthing, so i was getting the full "belt" right across my chest.  I'm very careful with electrickery now!

Posted

Tapped molten steel from an electric arc furnace without noticing that the water cooled roof ring had leaked into the lander (spout). So molten steel onto water and BOOM. Molten steel shower. Only time in my life I was running in slow motion. Escaped with just two burns. Very lucky

Posted

Crashed a microlight. Really did think my number was up.

As a kid I overturned a canoe and couldn't right it, nearly drowned.

Apart from that, quite a few while riding bikes for 35 years! (Example: fell off in motorway traffic. Felt my head move 4 or 5 times and realised it was the wheels of an artic rolling past and nudging my helmet as it rolled by)

Nine lives went years ago...

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Posted

Could be in either brushes with fame or death...

Late 80's / early 90's i was almost run over by a slantnose 911...

Turned to give the driver some grief ...

then very quickly realised it was Nigel Benn the middleweight champion driving the porker

Turn my " oi you f*****g idiot in "hello mate" thus avoiding a very painfull near death experience...

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Posted

Was hit in a major head on, some years ago by an idiot who thought drifting a Honda Civic Type R on opposite lock round a quick bend was a good idea.

The whole ER behaved really weirdly to me once I'd been carted in, and wouldn't let me off the spinal board for some ridiculous length of time, and until I'd had multiple x-rays.

I only found out later that day, that it was because they routinely received digital pictures taken of the crash scene, and had been sent several shots of my, now four or five foot shorter Audi A4; they'd got themselves all geared up for me to be either doa, or to crash in resus, or to have catastrophic injuries. They somehow seemed deflated, I hesitate to say disappointed, when effectively it was cuts, bruises, and "trivial" broken bones. An usual heel injury seemed to perk them up a little though!

Posted

I was a despatch rider in London for 20 years so like regrets, I've had a few...

I still ride like a despatch rider except these days I'm just delivering myself to the office. NDE's happen less frequently, but they still happen :oops:

Posted

Me? I'm a devout coward! :p

Posted

Age 6. My dad had decided that holding the top of a broken mains plug on with a rubber band was a good fix. Said plug was used for a light in the toilet. I went for a wee in the middle of the night and having completed the task, dutifully unplugged the light as I'd been instructed to. Of course, I gripped the top of the plug. Top lifts off, my wee fingers curl into the plug and bridge live and neutral. Threw me across the hall and my back dented the wall.

Age 17. Having built a 24 channel lighting desk to replace the ancient rheostat dimmers our school had, I managed to get myself across a couple of phases. That one stung.

Age 40 something. Flying back from Cranfield with a mate in a Longeze. Came very close to a head-on with a Cessna 152 flying the opposite track. Only a very quick reaction from my mate to push the nose down hard saved us. Way too close.

Posted

Makes you think if you should be driving a Westfield

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Posted

Makes you think if you should be driving a Westfield

I know what you mean, but personally, it's WHY I'm still driving a Westfield, life's so short and could be gone in a blink. To live afraid of death isn't living at all, and you'll die a thousand mini deaths everyday whilst living in fear.

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Posted

Wow some very nasty close ones above :(

Crashed a microlight. Really did think my number was up.

As a kid I overturned a canoe and couldn't right it, nearly drowned.

Apart from that, quite a few while riding bikes for 35 years! (Example: fell off in motorway traffic. Felt my head move 4 or 5 times and realised it was the wheels of an artic rolling past and nudging my helmet as it rolled by)

Nine lives went years ago...

bl**** hell Chris you've had some scrapes!

Those Artic wheels would not have been a nice way to go if you were a few inches closer

Posted
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