# A bizarrely random death… **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 19, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195 "2025-04-19T00:08:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2025, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/61 "2025-04-19T23:23:56Z")
That sounds like your version of quicksand! Ewwwwwww! Every year, there are a few deaths in the upper Midwest from people being overcome by manure pit fumes, or they got caught in an avalanche in a grain bin, often because they didn’t wear safety equipment. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2025, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/62 "2025-04-19T23:25:26Z")
I’m sorry to see this. What happened to the other man? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2025, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/63 "2025-04-19T23:55:59Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > The tire came off of a vehicle driving in the opposite direction, and it bounced over the center divide and struck the driver’s windshield. I had a near miss like this on Kearny Villa Road in San Diego. Fortunately I saw the tire coming at me from far enough away that I was able to take evasive action. It took about 3 bounces before flying past about 6 feet from my window. Very disconcerting. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/64 "2025-04-20T00:09:31Z")
Forgot about this one until @blondebear’s prompt … Way back when I was ~30 in USAF a squadron mate was driving the interstate between Las Vegas & Salt Lake City. Mountainous terrain, 2 lanes each way at different elevations with a couple hundred yards of open slope between. Late at night a car coming the other way on the uphill side lost control and came careening down the mountainside median. Hit my pal’s car just about square in the left front corner. This was almost a decade before widespread cell phones, so the emergency response out in the boonies was very slow in coming. His pregnant wife in the passenger seat is injured but not severely & the baby is born normally a few months later. He lost a leg and a big hunk of his brain. Died a year later never having left a hospital. Damned shame. He was one of the best guys I ever met. He was about 26 when it happened. Almost no traffic either way. Room for 100 cars to go careening down that hill between each car going the other way. And he gets centerpunched. Dammit Dan, you didn’t deserve that. Neither did Lisa. Fate sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/65 "2025-04-20T01:47:59Z")
The jumper died at the scene. My BiL was taken off life support a couple days later. My sister, who was driving, had no physical injury. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/66 "2025-04-20T01:56:09Z")
Linky asks for a subscription without displaying any part of the article. Here’s one I found on a free site: > **[Family of Kyle Plush receive update on changes made to 911 call center...](https://www.fox19.com/2024/03/19/family-kyle-plush-receive-update-changes-made-911-call-center-following-sons-death/)** > > Kyle Plush died of asphyxia due to chest compression in April 2018. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/67 "2025-04-20T02:10:11Z")
Another unusual way of dying, [Why Tree Wells Are So Deadly For Skiers And Snowboarders | Cowboy State Daily](https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/03/23/tree-wells-a-deadly-risk-for-wyoming-skiers-and-snowboarders-2/) . We’ve had two fatalities in the last 3 years at my area. On a slightly more positive note, I work with a grizzly bear attack survivor and once met a guy who lived through being attacked by a shark. [Man survives grizzly bear attack in Montana wilderness](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/oct/15/man-survives-grizzly-bear-attack-in-montana-wilder/) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/68 "2025-04-20T02:29:31Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > they got caught in an avalanche in a grain bin, When I was at university a few of us went to see _Witness_ with Harrison Ford. After we left the theatre one of my friends asked why I was so quiet. I said, “A guy I knew died in a grain bin like that guy in the movie.” Dead silence. I could tell my city-born friends had thought it was theatrical exaggeration. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/69 "2025-04-20T02:49:47Z")
Eleven years ago, the entire neighborhood of Steelhead Haven, near Oso, Washington, 50 miles north of Seattle, was wiped out in a landslide. 49 homes were destroyed and 43 people died. The hillside next to it collapsed after heavy rains the previous 45 days. It’s the deadliest landslide in US history. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for anyone who saw it coming. > **[2014 Oso landslide](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Oso_landslide)** > > A major landslide occurred 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Oso, Washington, United States, on March 22, 2014, at 10:37 a.m. local time. A portion of an unstable hill collapsed, sending mud and debris to the south across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, engulfing a rural neighborhood, and covering an area of approximately 1 square mile (2.6 km2). Forty-three people were killed and 49 homes and other structures destroyed. The landslide has been described as one of, if not the most, deadly lan ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/70 "2025-04-20T03:45:20Z")
Many of them may have died from the overpressure/concussion of the air before the landslide hit. One of the casualties was a woman who was driving to a horse stable where she had a weekend job, and her father was determined to find her. He did; she was facing forwards and the radio was tuned to her favorite station. She also did not have a fearful look on her face, indicating that at least she did not see or feel it coming. Her family also said that her biggest fear was that she would contract, and die from, some horrible, painful, incurable disease, and she was spared that possible fate. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/71 "2025-04-20T03:56:43Z")
A minister my family was acquainted with, was driving from Kansas City to Salina, Kansas with his wife and three kids. They had been there for medical tests on the younger boy. A car going in the opposite direction hit a deer which was hurled over the median and struck their car. Two of the kids and the mom were killed. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/72 "2025-04-20T05:11:45Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > > [@Bullitt](#): > > > > a woman was driving there and the storm blew down a large tree branch that fell on her car. It killed her instantly. > > > > Talk about random. And bizarre. > > > > It’s stories like this and others shared here (@ **enipla** , wow! Glad you survived that one!) that help to make us more aware of potential hazards. You can’t live your life in fear, at least I don’t want to, but increasing awareness will help you avoid potentially fatal situations. > > I fail to understand how that story teaches me to avoid potentially fatal situations. > > Presumably, she was driving down the road for a reason. > > A random tire/falling branch/falling dog (!!)/lightning strike isn’t something anyone can avoid. > > I mean, that’s … kinda the point of this thread, no? I do see your point. But my takeaway is that when it is rainy and stormy, on this particular road (Brotherhood Way) there are two lanes and the tree branches typically extend over the right lane but not the left. So we can take the left lane instead. Another takeaway is to be aware of when there are trees and branches above you. Just be aware, is all for now. Usually if walking below a branch the sound of it breaking will travel faster than the falling branch. You have barely a second to react, but if you react you might be able to lessen the injury. About the tire, yeah that’s bizarre but our eyeballs can scan for items flying over the lane divider. Again you’d only have a split second to react but if that pickup truck driver served just a foot to his right he’d probably still be alive. A car going the wrong way on the freeway could likely have a closing speed of 130 mph with your vehicle. Seeing an oncoming car on such a freeway would likely make a person freeze and not believe (if even for a split second) what their eyeballs are telling them. But if you can process that visual information and serve out of the way, it might just save your life. In some level these may seem ridiculous, but if we can increase our situational awareness even just a little bit, that might be the difference between death, and a serious injury you can recover from. The point of this thread is yes, if it’s truly a bizarre and random event and it is truly your time to go, then you’re gonna go. But another point is to also be aware of how these things can possibly happen, and what if anything can be done about it. That’s what I did with motorcycling. 250,000 miles, most of those miles during commute hours in the crazy SF Bay Area traffic. And no accidents. Whenever I heard of an accident I’d inquire about it and see what I can learn and apply to my own riding. For me it’s about situational awareness. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/73 "2025-04-20T05:31:25Z")
I have two. My first job out of college I had a coworker who was terrified of lightning. She had lost her uncle to a lightning strike. He was napping near an open window during a storm. My great-uncle died trying to stop a truck. He had parked his truck on a slight slope, and he got out to get coffee. He noticed that it started moving, so he ran back to the truck to stop it. He was climbing into the truck when the truck when past a utility pole and slammed the door on his body, which was half in / half out of the truck. He made it to the hospital, but died soon afterwards. The truck was not someplace that he could have just let it roll, but I don’t remember more details than that as it was 40 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/74 "2025-04-20T11:21:50Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Tires are heavy, Yes, they are-- unaired, unmounted tires are heavier than most people expect, but I’m betting this was a mounted tire, and wheels are f\*cking heavy. Compressed air is also heavier than the air around it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/75 "2025-04-20T12:40:24Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > We can tell. 😉 > > Seriously though…glad you got through it all. I was proud when I got four stitches once. 130 is beyond my ability to fathom. This and other stories are why I, at the least, always always wear a helmet when riding anything. Haha, yeah. I did have a helmet on. A Bell 3/4, so not full. The accident was a perfect combination of bad all coming together at once. I see people in shorts and flip-flops riding motorcycles and I question their sanity. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/76 "2025-04-20T12:44:58Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > When you’re out on the road, do you ever wonder if the driver of a car in the oncoming lane might decide to cross the center line [for some reason](https://youtu.be/L4oiD8xgyjk?feature=shared)? I have always driven as though any given driver will do the absolutely dumbest fucking thing one can imagine at any given moment. I believe it’s a good strategy, and has saved my ass on more than one occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/77 "2025-04-20T15:59:36Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I have always driven as though any given driver will do the absolutely dumbest fucking thing one can imagine at any given moment. I believe it’s a good strategy, and has saved my ass on more than one occasion. Pretty much the approach my grandfather taught me when I was learning to drive. He figured one should just assume other drivers are crazy, stupid, and actively hostile. Especially where I live now (he never lived here), it works. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/78 "2025-04-20T17:03:29Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > He figured one should just assume other drivers are crazy, stupid, and actively hostile. Or drunk or high. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/79 "2025-04-20T17:05:17Z")
That too, he would have agreed. I certainly agree with you on that. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195/80 "2025-04-20T17:54:33Z")
A guy my sister worked with was in the drive-thru at a fast food place in Chicago in the winter. He was leaning out of his car window to get his food and a big icicle fell off the building’s roof and hit his head. He didn’t die, but had serious permanent brain injury. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bizarrely-random-death/1017195.md?page=5)