What is the closest you have been to being killed?

[Lord of Elves]

An interesting proposal; I'm sure I've been closer to dying than this incident and wasn't aware of it, but a few weeks ago I was almost t-boned at an intersection near the local strip mall.

 

[Agent Cooper]

Almost died from a severe asthma attack while admitted at hospital when I was 7.

I was gone for a couple of minutes. Strangely enough, at that exact moment I had no pain or fear at all. Otherwise I absolutely hated my stay at the hospital which lasted about a week. I was scared, hated all the tests they did on me, didn't like the food, missed my parents and my pet cat. I've loathed being at hospitals (usually just as a relative or with my son) ever since and I credit it to this experience.

 

[Brighteye]

When my father was very angry when I was a child. So not very close at all, given that at the time I could wriggle and dodge like a superhero.

 

[The_J]

I had several dangerous incidents with my car, but luckily some other circumstances prevented it.
During winter, once i couldn't get up the hill were i worked, and while i was slowly moving backwards down it, i lost control, the car shifted so that it was standing in a 45° angle to the road, sliding to the iced crossroad, directly before a small canyon.
The crossroad was a main road, and the minor road was directly after a bend. If another car had come...don't want to imagine it.
Also hit more than one time some stuff on the highway at ~160km/h, or had once the chance in winter to make some pirouettes on the street.
Not sure how close this has been to being killed.

 

[Syterion]

Once I was hit by a car while walking. I rolled onto the windshield and then they braked to a halt and I fell off the hood. The car was going around 30 mph. I was completely fine. Scraped my elbow a bit.

 

[jtb1127]

When my father was very angry when I was a child. So not very close at all, given that at the time I could wriggle and dodge like a superhero.

Your father nearly murdered you?

 

[carmen510]

When I was in 5th~ grade, I ran to catch my school bus and I almost got run over by an SUV.

 

[Berzerker]

Once I was hit by a car while walking. I rolled onto the windshield and then they braked to a halt and I fell off the hood. The car was going around 30 mph. I was completely fine. Scraped my elbow a bit.

wow, you got lucky it wasn't a ford econoline van

 

[emzie]

I knew 2 kids in high school who got hit by traffic. One got hit by a pickup going ~45mph. He landed in the truck's bed. Was in hospital for 3 months or something. The other kid got hit by a car travelling 25mph and he did more damage to the car than the car did to him.

 

[Narz]

The 1st time I remember being seriously afraid of dying was when I was about six & I got caught in some undertoe at the ocean. I wasn't very far out but it felt like I was underwater getting churned around for two or three minutes (really it was probably just 30 seconds or so). When I got away no one had even noticed. Probably my actual chance of death from something like that was near zero. I wasn't very far out.

Real brushes with death. Well, I attempted suicide in 1997. Fortunately I used the only pills I had handy which were Lithiums which are very hard to OD on. I got hit by a car in 2000. Thought I broke my back but just got some slipped discs. In 2003 I got in a serious car crash with the passenger side of the vehicle crushed in. But all I suffered was some minor glass shrapnel hitting my in the ear. I remember feeling eerily calm after the accident despite losing my $3,500 car (only had liability). I guess I felt like I'd gotten some sort of bad event out of my system & somehow I was now safer (I suppose statistically a 20-something is safer without a car).

Nothing seriously life threatening since then.

 

[Commodore]

The vehicle I was on was hit by a roadside bomb followed up by small arms fire while I was in Iraq.

 

[Bootstoots]

Why just today, I was on a Frigate that had gotten taken over by the evil Janus syndicate. The crew had been taken hostage, and two bombs were placed. I made a stupid mistake early on, costing me most of my life and causing the death of one of the hostages. Only one shot from death, I pondered giving up. But I persevered, and I made it through the ship flawlessly, killing bad guys and freeing hostages right and left. Five freed hostages, two defused bombs, and one bugged helicopter later, I returned back to my boat victorious. All in a day's work.

 

[kochman]

Why just today, I was on a Frigate that had gotten taken over by the evil Janus syndicate. The crew had been taken hostage, and two bombs were placed. I made a stupid mistake early on, costing me most of my life and causing the death of one of the hostages. Only one shot from death, I pondered giving up. But I persevered, and I made it through the ship flawlessly, killing bad guys and freeing hostages right and left. Five freed hostages, two defused bombs, and one bugged helicopter later, I returned back to my boat victorious. All in a day's work.

Best.video.game.ever.

 

[Tecknojock]

On a backpacking trip earlier this summer I almost froze to death. We were backpacking in the Wamanuche Wilderness area and I quite stupidly, brought only cotton clothes and a light fleece sleepingbag. On the fourth day we had icy rain and hail for several hours and it got dark before anything had dried. That night it dropped below freezing and all my gear was soaked and useless for keeping me warm. I spent the night freezing in an emergency blanket. I shivered violently all night, but I made it through the night. If i hadn't brought one of those i wouldn't be here.

 

[JohnRM]

Short of going into full cardiac arrest, I did more than two years ago, after a bad car accident. When I arrived at the ER, I wasn't breathing and I barely had a pulse. The Attending thought I was DOA. When I didn't die then, he expected me to die within the next three days. Then my Wolverine-style healing skills stepped in and I was okay. Death shook his scythe at me, said "so close!", and walked away crying like little [female dog].

I broke both legs, both hips, pelvis, three vertebrae, tailbone, and two fingers. I damaged two major body organs and suffered massive internal bleeding. Then I caught pneumonia while in Intensive Care. The little bastard pneumonia bugs came rushing at me like bullets. I raised my hand and said, "no".

 

[Ice_Tyrant]

I apparently busted my head at some point in my early life but obviously I do not remember it. Friend who gives me rides home from college sometimes also brings us close to wrecks lol

 

[pob]

I haven't been close to actually dying, but have had several incidents that could have been fatal:

• accidental OD; result: 36 hours asleep
• housemate tried to kill me by lacing my food; result: 1 hour temporary paralysis & 1 new home
• witnessed an assassination and followed the assassin for ~half a mile; result: assassin got away, didn't have to testify

My life has been interesting

 

[bhsup]

Probably when I hit a tree going 80 in my brother's Camaro. I was in a spin and it hit just right at the edge of the bumper that it caught and spun me around the other way, sheering off everything forward of the doors except the engine block itself. They figure if I'd been a foot further back in the spin cycle, the car would have hit dead center head-on and crumpled.

Another possibility, when I was a young kid and my aunt accidentally discharged a firearm outside the cabin I was in. The shot went through the window near me.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Would've drowned at school if my teacher hadn't noticed and jumped in to save me.

I was in a car going around a roundabout when I was six, the passenger door flew open and I was thrown into the road. The driver in that lane screeched to a halt and he was hit by the car behind - I ended up literally touching his tyres. I've obviously always worn a seatbelt since.

 

[Ataxerxes]

I was hiking alone in the Arches National Monument. Stupidly got myself into a position I couldn't go back up and had to jump for a ledge a few feet below. If I missed the ledge it was a long way down.

Only other one was in an allergist's office. During one of the tests my heart stopped and they had to revive me.

I've been in earthquakes but was in no danger from any of them.