20 Near Death Experiences Caught on Camera

20 Near-Death Experiences Caught on Camera

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re talking about the times people nearly met their end while they were being filmed.

Ben Brown

Ben Brown is a British lifestyle vlogger known for documenting his travels on YouTube. In 2016, he recorded an accidental PSA for driver safety while filming one of his vlogs in Berlin. The friends are chatting when suddenly, the rear is hit by another vehicle on the side where Brown is sitting, deploying the airbags. Thankfully, nobody was injured, but everyone on camera was clearly shaken by the accident. We’re willing to bet this caused at least a few aspiring YouTubers to think twice before they vlog and drive.

Girl Pushes Friend Into Moving Bus

If you’re going to prank a friend, it’s important to consider a few factors. How funny is it really? Are they likely to be offended? And, oh yeah, is there a possibility it could cost them their life? Pushing your friend in front of traffic doesn’t even qualify as a prank. But in this video, two teenage girls are walking in Czechowice-Dziedzice, Poland when one gets the idea to push the other into a street for a laugh. When the girl fell, her head just barely missing the tires of an oncoming bus, there was not a ton of laughter from anyone. After being fined 70 euros for the blunder, we hope the offending teenage girl learned her lesson — and found better material.

Flying Car Narrowly Misses Pedestrian

Flying cars might seem wondrous when you’re watching films like “Harry Potter” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” but probably less so when one is suddenly hurtling toward you. In this incident captured on home security, a pedestrian walks along unknowingly, shopping bags in hand, while disaster unfolds in the background. A car tries to overtake a transporter but ends up hitting its back wheel, sending the car flying towards the unsuspecting shopper. Things look dicey for a moment as he runs for his life while the car rolls in his direction — and fast. Thankfully, the man outruns the vehicle and it miraculously lands up right where he was standing before. We hope whatever was in the pedestrian’s shopping bags was worth risking his life for!

Woman Falls Between Gaps of Moving Train

The next time your train is running late, count your blessings — at least you didn’t almost lose your life while you were waiting. In this video, CCTV footage captures the moment a woman suffering from low blood pressure stumbles towards a train pulling up to Independencia station near Buenos Aires, Argentina. Onlookers are horrified as the woman falls between the train’s cars. Thankfully, the train was stopped, and the woman was transferred to the hospital, where she received treatment — somehow managing to escape from the ordeal with just a few bruises.

2002 World Supersport Championship

When you’re a professional motorcycle racer, we have little doubt that you’re used to things moving fast. But when one moment you’re in the middle of a high-octane race and the next your life flashes before your eyes, we bet it’s still quite the adrenaline rush. Christian Kellner was competing in the 2002 World Supersport Championship when his oil line ruptured, resulting in a slick beneath his rear tire that sent him careening into a wall. It would be impressive to come out of this relatively unscathed. What makes the incident truly remarkable is when, like an obstacle in “Mario Kart,” the oil slick makes another cycle lose control — and just barely miss Kellner’s head. Talk about luck!

Narrowly Missed by a Loose Tire

Deaths caused by loose tires are more common than you might think—all the more reason for this shop owner to be thankful that she was spared (no pun intended). A security camera captured a woman in Thailand just trying to do her job, handing a bag to a customer in her vehicle when, out of nowhere, a loose tire whizzes between them before hitting a wall and stopping. The customer in her car reportedly suffered some injuries, while the shop owner appeared to be fine — but we still don’t think she gets paid enough for this.

Nearly Crushed by a Concrete Block

In this video, Alexander, a 27-year-old man from Russia, scrapes ice off the windscreen of his car before he looks up and runs away from it. A millisecond later, the vehicle is decimated by a concrete slab, reportedly weighing two tons, that had fallen off the roof of Alexander’s residential building. Thank Mother Russia that he happened to look up when he did — and that nobody was seated in the car at the time. Unless they’re a “Looney Tunes” character, we doubt anyone is surviving a concrete block falling on them from that height!

Getting Struck by Lightning While Dancing

In this video, egged on by his girlfriend who’s filming the whole thing, a shirtless man decides it's a great idea to bust a move next to his parked car while a natural disaster rages on. It goes about how you’d expect. We’re not saying it was deserved. After all, who hasn’t done something stupid to “impress” a girl? But we’d be lying if it wasn’t a little bit satisfying when Thor brings down the hammer on the man while he makes a mockery of the maelstrom. Hopefully lightning won’t need to strike twice for him to learn that the TikTok isn’t worth it.

Surfing an Avalanche

It’s almost like something out of an over-the-top spy movie. Picture it: 007 has just successfully infiltrated the evil mastermind’s secret mountain lair and it's time to make a daring escape via snowmobile. But oh no! The snowy ground begins to collapse beneath the secret agent as he speeds away. It’s a stunt that would surely be a film highlight. While there may not be any espionage going on in this very real video, it’s still thrilling to watch as the snowmobile rider surfs the “waves” of this avalanche, inexplicably emerging without harm from a disastrous-looking situation. Just as badass as Bond in our book!

Incoming Avalanche

In this clip, hiker Harry Shimmin is met with a terrifying sight - that of a massive cloud of white barreling down the mountain toward him. Simmin was walking through Kyrgyzstan’s Tian Shan mountains with a larger group when he peeled off solo. Soon, he was hit by an approaching avalanche. It begins at the very peak of the mountain but is startlingly quick to reach him. He decided to film the approach, as he believed that he was at a safe distance. He was wrong. Shimmin ducked down into a small hole as the snow rushed by, and struggled to get air for several seconds. Luckily, he and everyone else on the trek made it through the incident without major injuries.

Tidal Pool Rescue

Never underestimate just how dangerous the ocean can be! In 2014, a young man found himself swept up into a treacherous rip current at Abalone Cove Beach in California, which was captured on video by a concerned bystander. Thankfully, the folks on the shore did more than just film– two onlookers, Gary Golding and Rob McNulty, dove in head first to rescue the man and attempt to resuscitate him. They managed to get him– and themselves– out of the water safely, and lifeguards appeared on the scene shortly after.

Hazardous Substance

Fentanyl was the deadliest drug of 2021 in terms of overdoses and is a leading synthetic in the opioid epidemic. On July 3, 2021, police trainee David Faiivae of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department was at the site of a drug arrest. There has been some debate over what happened next, as just handling fentanyl cannot lead to an overdose. But while retrieving a bag from his evidence kit, Faiivae placed his face close to where he’d been testing bags of fentanyl and methamphetamine. In the video, he goes rigid and collapses to the ground. His training officer, Scott Crane, quickly grabs some nearby packets of naloxone, which is used to offset the drug and save peoples’ lives. Fortunately, Faiivae survived, but it is a disturbing video nonetheless.

Fisherman Close Call

Now this is one frightening point-of-view video! Christopher Lastra, a spear fisherman in O‘ahu Hawaii, was recording his dive when he came up for air for a split second and it nearly cost him his life! As scary as this clip is, fear not – Lastra came out unscathed! The boat merely grazed him and banged up one of his flippers. If you ask us, that’s a small price to pay for what could have been the last trip out to sea that he ever took. If you’re wondering why this mishap took place at all, Lastra was fishing without his buoy, which would have alarmed mariners that someone was just below the surface.

Inches From Death

This man from India was quite literally inches from death. In some terrifying footage captured by a nearby camera, he can be seen riding his motorcycle onto an active train track. Soon, he notices that a speeding train is barreling directly at him, and he both slams on the brakes and climbs off the motorcycle. The reaction was perfectly timed, as the train shatters his bike almost the second he gets off it. Debris goes flying, and the man scrambles away from immediate danger. Though he probably got the fright of his life, he was physically unharmed and was able to walk away from the scene.

Collapsing Onto Subway Tracks

A video from April of 2022 shows a man walking in Sydney’s Redfern station when he falls onto the tracks. He hits the ground hard and reportedly loses consciousness. Some onlookers act fast and jump onto the active tracks in an attempt to save him. To make matters even worse, the train is scheduled to arrive at any minute, so serious trouble is looming. Luckily, staff members waving red flags are able to alert the incoming vehicle. It gets pretty close, but manages to stop in the nick of time, just far away enough to avoid hurting anyone.

Going Through Ice

Frozen bodies of water are no joke. On a February evening in 2017, a large group of kids and teens ventured onto a frozen pond in Central Park. What they didn’t realize, though, was that it wasn’t solid and definitely unsuitable for standing on. As the friends played around, enjoyed themselves, and posed for selfies, the ice underneath their feet shattered, sending them into the freezing water. The harrowing clip shows them flailing around in desperation for a while. Thankfully, some witnesses then grabbed a ladder and helped them out. They subsequently received medical care, and all recovered.

Narrow Escape From Falling Concrete Block

A popular comedy trope in movies and TV shows involves a heavy object, typically a piano or anvil, being dropped on a poor guy’s head. But no one was laughing when a similar incident nearly happened to this young boy. It’s not quite clear where or how the falling debris emerged, but the short CCTV clip shows the boy walking out of a building when a concrete block drops right next to him. It’s so close that he feels the impact just by his feet and leaps to safety. Time makes all the difference here, as it probably would’ve been a different story if the young lad was one second late.

Rehearsal Gone Wrong

Jonathan Goodwin is a professional escapologist who found success on shows like “America’s Got Talent” and its British counterpart. In October of 2021, a camera captured him rehearsing for “America's Got Talent: Extreme.” His stunt is incredibly ambitious, as it sees him hanging upside down in a straitjacket high above the ground. Meanwhile, two exploding cars are set to release and sandwich Goodwin if he doesn't escape in time. Something goes horribly wrong, and both vehicles collide into him. His injuries were extremely severe, and he ended up paralyzed from the waist down, but ultimately survived. He’s since retired from stunt work.

Trump Grazed by a Bullet

During American elections these days, there seems to be one wild moment after another. But an assassination attempt on a former president is always going to be particularly notable — even if something wilder takes its place in the news cycle before we know it. Trump was speaking at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania when the top of his right ear was grazed by a shot taken by Thomas Matthew Crooks from a nearby roof. The shooter was promptly dealt with after the fact, but many were aghast that he was even able to get a shot in the first place. And just what were the shooter's motives and political allegiances? A very good question to briefly ask before heading into the next political fiasco!

Mid-Air Collision

In 2013, something absolutely horrifying happened: two Wisconsin planes bearing skydivers collided in the sky. This unfortunate crash is captured on various helmet cameras, as is the startling aftermath. Multiple people spill from the planes as fiery debris and falling airplanes rain down around them. It spelled catastrophe, but amazingly, all eleven people — skydivers and pilots alike — survived the terrifying accident. A few were hurt a bit, but thankfully, no one was hurt too severely. It’s an amazing story of survival and quick thinking, and it makes for some truly intense footage.

Have a nearly-morbid movie that we missed? Let us know in the comments!