Stu Rod
From Scripps Ranch (Entrepreneur)
I was riding my three-wheeler all day with my cousin. He hammered it, and I was trying to catch up. I got up to about 40 miles per hour, and the bearings burned out. The front wheel came off, and I went sideways and hit a ditch. The thing flipped over and landed a few feet from me. I only broke my hand, but that thing could’ve crushed me. I had another incident that involved a piece of tin that almost cut my head off. And another where I was late for work when it was foggy. I was driving fast and hit a school bus. Traffic was backed up, but I didn’t see it until it was too late.
Steve Birkenbach
From Mira Mesa (Machinist)
I was 15, and it was after New Year’s. A friend had gotten some gin, and we ended up drinking beer, whiskey, and I finished the entire fifth of gin. I was a skinny kid, too. We were walking to the store to get gum, and we almost caused an accident crossing the street. Someone then called the police, and they rushed me to the hospital. They used charcoal and pumped my stomach. After that, it was a long time before I drank again.
Dan Klausenstock
From San Diego (Engineer)
I’ve been close to death several times in my life. Poor judgment on my part. Once on a surfing trip on the San Francisco coast 30 years ago. It was 48-degree water. We had to paddle out, and my friend Aaron made it. I was gasping for oxygen and fighting through the pounding white water and waves. A row of huge, ice-cold mountains of water came toward me. If I panicked, I would be dead. For a moment, during the third wave, I thought it was over. I was gasping for breath and thinking of my family being at my burial. There was also a time when I was trying to land a plane on a small dirt strip in Mexico. At night.
Gina Piccolo
From Point Loma (Artist)
I had this dream that someone was stabbing me in the neck or something. It was weird because I could feel the blood gushing out and everything. And as I was laying there, I was wondering who would take care of my cats. I was okay when I woke up, so…I guess that’s not coming close to dying in real life. I actually don’t think I’ve ever had an incident where I felt my life was in danger. Sometimes I’m working on an art project, and I wonder if someone’s going to come up behind me and smash my head with a hammer.
Tim Parsons
From San Diego (Manager)
I’m not sure what constitutes an answer to that. I’ve jumped out of planes. Wouldn’t that be coming close to dying? Right up until I open the parachute. I was once mountain climbing and slipped, but that wasn’t a big deal. Probably the closest I actually came to dying was when I did a ride-along with a police officer. He pulled someone over for having a taillight out. I was sitting in the car, not even paying much attention because at that point, it was getting rather boring. Gunfire erupted, and one of the bullets hit the window near my head.