This list of unusual deaths includes unique or extremely rare circumstances of death recorded throughout the 21st century, noted as being unusual by multiple sources.
Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter" who was killed by a stingray
Phillip Hughes, Australian cricketer killed on the pitch
The 43-year-old engineer was voluntarily slaughtered and eaten by Armin Meiwes following an appointment via internet. At Brandes' request, Meiwes first amputated Brandes' penis and they unsuccessfully tried to eat it. Meiwes taped the entire amputation, killing, conserving, and eating Brandes' meat. Meiwes was eventually arrested and sentenced to life in prison.[1][2][3]
Unknown man
27 April 2001
An unnamed Canadian man was visiting his mother's house in order to attend his father's funeral when, whilst cleaning the kitchen, he tripped over the open dishwasher door and was impaled on knives sticking up out of the cutlery tray, the wounds eventually proving fatal.[4][5]
The 13-year-old died from her injuries at an NHL game after a deflected puck struck her in the left temple. She was the first and only fan fatality in the league's history.[8]
Roger Wallace
18 May 2002
The 60-year-old auto parts salesman was flying his 5-foot (1.5 m) wingspan remote-control plane in Tucson, Arizona, when he lost sight of it in the bright sun. It struck him in the chest, killing him.[9][10][better source needed]
Jane McDonald
27 May 2003
While visiting a friend, the 31-year-old slipped and fell onto an open dishwasher, landing on an upright knife. She was taken to a hospital, where she died of her injuries.[11][12]
Rebecca Longhoffer
16 August 2003
The 39-year-old tourist, a mother of four, was electrocuted while crossing Las Vegas Boulevard when she stepped on a cast iron plate that covered electrical wiring and was hidden by a deep rain puddle.[13][14]
Hitoshi Nikaidoh
16 August 2003
The 35-year-old surgical resident from Houston, Texas, was killed after his head was trapped in elevator doors at the hospital where he worked. He was partially decapitated as the elevator ascended, and he also sustained injuries to his ribs and spine.[15][16]
The 46-year-old pizza delivery man from Erie, Pennsylvania, was killed after a collar bomb around his neck exploded as part of a bank robbery scheme.[17]
Unknown woman
2004
A 45-year-old Taiwanese woman bathed in 40.5% ethanol in an attempt to protect herself from SARS during the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak. She laid down in the fluid at 11. p.m. and was found dead at 11 a.m. by her family the next day. Her BAC was 1.35% and she most likely absorbed the alcohol through the skin.[18][19]
Francis Daniel Brohm
2 September 2004
The 23-year-old was hanging out the passenger window of 21-year-old John Hutcherson's car when Hutcherson drove off the road and sideswiped a telephone pole support wire, decapitating him. Hutcherson continued the final 12 miles (19 km) to his Atlanta home, parked in the driveway, and went to bed. A neighbor found Brohm's headless body in the truck the next morning.[20][21]
The 45-year-old Boeing engineer from Seattle, nicknamed Mr. Hands, died from acute peritonitis after having his colon perforated while being anally penetrated by a horse.[22][23]
Chandler Hugh Jackson
6 July 2005
The 12-year-old was playing at the Dogwood Hill golf club in Cunningham, Kentucky, when he fell on his 9-iron club while retrieving an out of bounds ball. The club broke, with a piece of the shaft piercing his aorta through his chest.[24][25]
The 44-year-old Australian wildlife expert and television personality was pierced in the chest by a short-tail stingray's barb while filming in shallow water in the Great Barrier Reef.[26][27][28]
The 28-year-old mother was participating in a contest sponsored by Sacramento-based radio station KDND, called "Hold Your Wee For A Wii", in which contestants had to drink excessive amounts of water without going to the bathroom. She vomited during the contest and returned home with a headache, later dying of water intoxication.[35][36][37]
Humberto Hernandez
21 June 2007
The 24-year-old Oakland, California, resident was struck in the back of the head by an airborne fire hydrant when a passing car struck it, and the water pressure shot it at him with great force.[38][39][40]
Francis Pete Tovey
18 March 2008
The 81-year-old built a device that consisted of a jigsaw power tool attached to a .22 semi-automatic handgun containing four bullets. He then activated it, which fired multiple shots at his head, killing himself. Tovey built the device after downloading suicide plans on the Internet. Tovey, who originated from England and was living in Burleigh Heads, Australia at the time, left a note stating that he was struggling after pressure from relatives to move from his £450,000 home to a retirement home.[41][42][43]
The 41-year-old Brazilian Catholic priest and sky diver undertook a cluster balloon flight to raise funds for charity. During the flight, contact was lost and de Carli disappeared. The lower part of his body was found floating in the sea eleven weeks later on 4 July.[46][47]
Isaiah Otieno
13 May 2008
The student from Cranbrook, British Columbia, was struck and killed by a helicopter that plunged into a residential street he was walking in. The pilot and two other passengers of the helicopter were also instantly killed.[48][49]
David Phyall
5 July 2008
The 50-year-old last resident in a block of flats due to be demolished in Bishopstoke, near Southampton, England, decapitated himself with a chainsaw to highlight the injustice of being forced to move out of it.[50]
Unknown woman
7 October 2008
A 43-year-old Irish woman died of an allergic reaction after having sex with a German Shepherd. Its owner, Seán McDonnell, and the woman met in an Internet chat room for bestiality. McDonnell was prosecuted and added to a sex offender list. The dog was later destroyed.[51][52]
Jeff Twaddle
27 March 2009
The 54-year-old charter boat deckhand from Huntington Beach, California, choked to death on a bait fish he had placed in his mouth to amuse a group of elementary school students on a fishing trip off Long Beach.[53][54]
Diane Durre
3 April 2009
The 49-year-old was killed in North Platte, Nebraska, by a falling Taco Bell sign. The sign was knocked over by high winds, and landed on a pickup truck, killing her and injuring her husband, Mark.[55][56]
The 42-year-old was struck in the head by a piece of a metal pipe flung by a tractor-pulled lawnmower as she walked to work in Townsville, Australia.[67][68]
The 31-year-old Welsh mathematician and GCHQ analyst was found dead and naked in a bag that had been padlocked from the outside, in the bath of his home in Central London.[69] The inquest found his death was likely criminal, although a Metropolitan Police investigation later found that it was likely an accident.[70]
20 passengers and crew of a Let L-410 Turbolet were killed in a crash resulting from an escaped crocodile in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to the sole survivor of the crash, the animal was smuggled aboard by a passenger but escaped mid-flight. Panicked passengers surged forward, unbalancing the plane and causing a loss of control.[71] The crocodile survived the crash, but was promptly killed by a blow from a machete.[72]
The 62-year-old cellist and founding member of the band Electric Light Orchestra died when a large, round bale of hay rolled down a hill and collided with the van he was driving.[73][74]
The 62-year-old owner of Segway Inc. died after apparently riding a Segway Personal Transport System off a cliff in Thorp Arch, England.[75][76][77] The coroner came to the conclusion that Heselden had likely fallen from the cliff with the Segway after "getting into difficulty" reversing to allow a man walking his dog to pass him.[78][failed verification]
The 32-year-old Spanish road racing cyclist was crushed to death between a garage door and his car as he prepared to leave his home in the Province of Granada, Spain, for a training ride in preparation for the 2011 Tour de France.[81][82]
Unknown man and woman
6 June 2011
Two unnamed people were killed in an accident on a rural Quebec road when a "flying bear" collided with their SUV. The 200-kilogram (440 lb) black bear was sent airborne by a car in front of the SUV after it had stepped into the path of traffic on Highway 148. The bear passed through the windshield, hitting the driver and the passenger sitting behind her before passing through the rear window. The driver's boyfriend was in the front passenger seat and received injuries to his upper body which were described as "not life-threatening". The bear also died.[83][84]
Erica Marshall
10 February 2012
The 28-year-old British veterinarian in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber kicked the wall, releasing a spark from its horseshoe, causing a fire and explosion. The horse was also killed and another worker was seriously injured.[85][86]
Anthony Hensley
14 April 2012
The 37-year-old was killed by a swan while kayaking across a pond at a residential complex in Des Plaines, Illinois. After getting too close to the bird's nest, the swan attacked him, threw him out of the kayak and prevented him from surfacing; he ultimately drowned.[87][88]
Elizabeth Watkins
6 May 2012
The 24-year-old Australian field hockey player died in Perth after a deflected ball struck her on the head.[89][90]
The 17-year-old was discovered trapped upside down in a rolled-up gym mat in his high school gymnasium. Police originally concluded he had climbed in it to retrieve a shoe and became trapped, but the case was later reopened as a possible homicide.[91][92][93][94] The homicide case was dismissed, and Kendrick's parents were accused of fabricating evidence. In 2014, they were sentenced to pay more than US$292,000 in legal fees.[95] The case was again reopened in 2021, but closed again in January 2022, with the Lowndes County Sheriff finding his death to be an accident when re-reviewing some 17 boxes of evidence and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's findings.[96][97]
James Campbell
14 January 2013
The 68-year-old man from Cantonment, Florida had left his 1995 Chevrolet Van to open a gate from his driveway when his dog stepped on the van's gas pedal and ran him over.[98][99]
The 21-year-old from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was missing for several weeks before being found dead in a large water tank on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles, after guests complained about low pressure and foul smell of the water.[100][101]
Unknown man
2013
An unnamed 60-year-old Belarusian fisherman bled to death after being bitten by a beaver which he had tried to grab in order to have his picture taken with it.[102][103]
João Maria de Souza
2013
The 45-year-old was crushed in his bed by a cow falling through the roof of his home in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It had climbed on top of the house from a steep hillside behind it. Both the cow and his wife (who was in the bed next to him) were unharmed.[104][105]
The brothers, aged 4 and 6, respectively, were killed by an African rock python during a sleepover at their friend's apartment in New Brunswick, Canada. The snake had escaped from its inadequate enclosure and moved through ducts that were easily accessible to the reptile, where the snake then fell through the ceiling where the boys slept 3 metres (9.8 ft) away. Though the snake suffocated them, it did not attempt to eat them. However, an African rock python would not constrict unless it planned on eating; therefore, it is likely that the owners of the python also failed to feed their pet. The python was euthanized.[106][107]
The 58-year-old was asphyxiated by an "atomic wedgie" administered by his stepson during a fight in Oklahoma. After he had been knocked unconscious, the elastic band from his torn underwear was pulled over his head and stretched around his neck, strangling him. The stepson was sentenced to 30 years in prison.[110][111]
J.R.N.
18 January 2014
A 52-year-old Brazilian man, identified only as J.R.N., attempted to commit bestiality with a sow in Tapurah, Mato Grosso, but was attacked by the animals and wounded in the genitals. He died from cardiac arrest. His arms and face were also mutilated by the animals. Initially police believed that the man had been murdered and disposed of at the farm, but this was disproven as numerous pieces of evidence showed that the man had drunk alcohol, used a condom and had been wearing only underwear. The man had worked at the farm for two years.[112][113][114]
Grant Adams
9 June 2014
The 17-year-old had just woken up when he tripped on a wire and fell into a free-standing tanning bed in his bedroom on the morning of June 8, 2014. One of the glass tubes of the bed broke, piercing Grant's neck in two places. He was airlifted from his house in South Shields to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, where he died the next day.[115][116]
Heval Yıldırım
3 October 2014
The 13-year-old from Turkey was killed when a sacrificial goat bought for Eid al-Adha jumped off the roof, over a protective fence, and fell onto him. His father had placed it on the roof of the building where he lived because he could not find another suitable place to keep it.[117][118]
Peter Biaksangzuala
19 October 2014
The 23-year-old Indian football player from Mizoram state died after sustaining spinal cord injuries while awkwardly landing a somersault, celebrating a goal.[119][120]
The French oil executive was killed when his corporate jet collided during take-off with an airport snowplow reportedly driven by a drunk driver in Moscow.[121][122]
Gary Anderson
3 November 2014
The 58-year-old from Somerdale, New Jersey, was delivering drywall to a construction site and leaned his head into the car of a co-worker while having a conversation. As he pulled his head out, a worker accidentally dropped a 1-pound (0.45 kg) tape measure which plummeted 50 stories, or approximately 500 feet (150 m), when it ricocheted off a piece of metal 10 feet (3 m) off the ground and smashed into Anderson's head. He was rushed to Jersey City Medical Center where he suffered cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 9:52 a.m. Hard hats were mandatory at the site, and it is unclear why Anderson was not wearing one when he was killed.[123][124]
The member of American R&B group Brownstone died after falling backward while holding a wine glass. During the fall, the glass shattered on the ground behind her head, and the shards pierced her neck, causing profuse bleeding.[130][131][132]
Stephen Woytack
30 March 2015
The 74-year-old was decorating his family's grave plot at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Throop, Pennsylvania, for Easter with his wife when the tombstone of his mother-in-law toppled over, pinning him underneath and crushing him to death. The stone had supposedly been dislodged when the previously frozen ground was thawed by the early spring temperatures. Woytack was buried in a plot directly in front of the tombstone that killed him.[133][134]
Randy Llanes
29 May 2015
The 47-year-old fisherman from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, was killed by a swordfish. He had harpooned the fish and jumped into the water to retrieve it, but the swordfish impaled him in the chest.[135][136]
The 22-year-old British field hockey player died after being struck in the head with a stick during a practice match in Loughton, Essex, and suffering a cerebral haemorrhage.[139][140][141]
Ravi Subramanian
16 December 2015
The Air India technician was sucked into an aircraft's jet engine.[142][143]
V. Kamaraj
2016
The 40-year-old Indian bus driver was claimed by local newspapers to have been killed by a meteorite which left a two-foot (60 cm) crater, although officials from NASA oppose that view, saying that the most likely explanation was a land-based explosion. According to a preliminary report by the National College Instrumentation Facility (NCIF) in Trichy, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) study on the evidence of the samples retrieved from the campus in Vellore, from where the blast occurred, showed the "presence of carbonaceous chondrites".[144][145][verification needed][146][147][verification needed]
Irma Bule
4 April 2016
The 29-year-old Indonesian dangdut singer who performed with live snakes died during a concert after being bitten by a king cobra and refusing treatment.[148][149]
Lottie Michelle Belk
6 June 2016
The 55-year-old was fatally stabbed in the chest by a beach umbrella blown by a strong wind in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[150] Wind speeds at the time reached 20–25 miles per hour (32–40 km/h).[151]
Lane Graves
14 June 2016
The 2-year-old boy from Nebraska was on vacation and playing on the beach at Seven Seas Lagoon around 9 p.m. at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, just outside of Orlando, Florida. While he was playing, an alligator approached and dragged him under the water. Graves's body was found nearby the next day, intact and apparently drowned.[152][153][154]
The 27-year-old American actor, known for portraying Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek reboot movie series, was found pinned between his car and a brick wall. His driveway was on an incline and his car was found running and in neutral.[63][155][156] The manufacturer had recalled the car make in April 2016, for concerns about its gearshift design that could cause rollaway incidents, but the software patch to repair the vehicles did not reach dealers until the week of Yelchin's death.[157]
Moules, a 25-year-old correctional officer, and Gilliam, a 27-year-old out-of-county inmate being housed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, fell to their deaths after an altercation between them caused them to slam into the exterior of the fifth-floor elevator doors. Despite the elevator having its up-to-date working credentials, the door popped open on impact, causing the men to fall five flights down the shaft to their deaths. The county declared Moules' death a homicide and declared Gilliam's an accident.[160][161]
Unknown girl
26 July 2016
A 7-year-old girl died after being struck by a stone thrown by an elephant from its enclosure at the zoo in Rabat, Morocco.[162][163]
A powerful southerly change in Melbourne, Australia, resulted in the death of 10 asthmatic people who died from respiratory failure.[168] This was due to a stark 60-kilometre-per-hour (37 mph) wind that distributed ryegrasspollen into the moist air, rupturing them into very fine specks small enough to enter people's lungs.[169]
The 25-year-old was killed and swallowed by a reticulated python in West Sulawesi, Indonesia, in the first fully confirmed case of a snake swallowing an adult human.[173]
Charlie Holt
14 April 2017
The 5-year-old was killed at the Sun Dial, a rotating restaurant at the top of Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, when his head was caught in a small space between the rotating and non-rotating sections.[174][175][176]
The 51-year-old South African hunter died while leading a hunt in Zimbabwe. After Botha opened fire on three elephants who were charging his hunting party, a fourth elephant picked Botha up with her trunk. Another hunter fatally shot the elephant, which fell on Botha, crushing him to death.[179][180][181]
The 13-year-old from London, England, died in the hospital days after having a severe allergic reaction to a piece of cheese thrown at him by a classmate. Cheema was severely allergic to wheat, gluten, all dairy products, eggs and all nuts.[186][187]
Jasmine Beever
7 September 2017
The 16-year-old from Skegness, England, died of peritonitis brought about by Rapunzel syndrome. She had a long-time habit of chewing and swallowing her own hair (trichophagia) which formed a hairball in her stomach, leading to an infection in her abdomen damaging her vital organs.[188][189]
Elizabeth Isherwood
September 2017
The 60-year-old from Wolverhampton, England, walked naked into an airing cupboard at the villa at Pennal she was renting and shut the door. When she tried to leave, part of the door handle broke off in her hand. She dug into the wall in an attempt to escape, but struck and burst a pipe, which sprayed water into the cupboard and caused her eventual death by hypothermia. She was found several days later.[190][191][192]
Raildo Matias Santos
22 October 2017
The 49-year-old drowned in a bucket of water in Jaguaquara, Brazil. Santos, who was intoxicated, attempted to fetch a 20-litre (4.4 imp gal; 5.3 US gal) bucket of water, tripped, and fell in a kneeling position. He was epileptic.[193][194]
Hidr Korkmaz
12 November 2017
The 42-year-old Turkish-Dutch drug dealer and informant died when he threw his fishhook into an electrical cable while fishing somewhere in Eastern Europe. Though he was a witness in the case against Dutch criminal Willem Holleeder, he was not considered a crucial asset by authorities, who treated his death as an accident.[195][196]
Ateef Rafiq
16 March 2018
The 24-year-old died from cardiac arrest in a movie theater in Birmingham, England, while looking for his dropped mobile phone. His head became wedged under the electronic footrest of a seat.[197][198]
The 49-year-old from Tempe, Arizona, died after being hit by a self-driving car operated by Uber, as she crossed the road, in what was reported to be the first death of a pedestrian struck by a self-driving car on public roads. In response to the fatal accident, Uber suspended self-driving car tests in all U.S. cities.[199][200]
Kyle Plush
10 April 2018
The 16-year-old died from asphyxia after becoming trapped in his Honda Odyssey, which was in his school's parking lot in Cincinnati, Ohio. Attempting to reach his tennis equipment, he leaned over the third row of seats into the trunk. When the seats "squashed his chest", he became pinned and later died. During the incident, he called 9–1–1 twice, by using his smartphone's voice assistant. Responding to the calls, the police were not able to find him; he was eventually discovered dead in the vehicle by his father about six hours later.[201][202]
The 77-year-old died of asphyxiation from the carbon dioxide vapors produced by four dry ice coolers in a Dippin' Dots delivery car. The deliveryman's wife had borrowed the car to take Whiting home.[205][206]
The 74-year-old British-American balloonist was mortally injured after landing safely near Warner Springs, California, at the end of a test flight of an experimental high-altitude balloon. After Nott and his passenger reentered the balloon's gondola, it rolled down a steep ravine.[218][219]
Patrick McGuire
April 2019
The 67-year-old American tourist died from positional asphyxia in Scotland when a 72-kilogram (159 lb) metal garden bench he was sitting on toppled backwards, pinning him against a wall which had knocked him unconscious. It was later found that such benches had a risk of sinking into the grass and there were no appropriate checks to provide a stable hard surface for the benches.[220][221]
Darren Hickey
5 April 2019
The 51-year-old wedding planner from Horwich, England, died after eating a scalding-hot fishcake at a wedding. The cake had burned his throat, restricting his ability to breathe. The pathologist who performed the autopsy called the case "extremely rare" and likened it to those of victims who have inhaled smoke during house fires.[222][223] Hickey received a set of false teeth following a previous event.[224]
Marvin Hajos
12 April 2019
The 75-year-old exotic animal collector living at a farm near Alachua, Florida, was attacked and killed by his recently purchased pet cassowary. The large bird repeatedly kicked the man, which punctured his skin and severed the brachial artery in his arm. Hajos was declared dead by the time paramedics arrived at the scene, and the cassowary was auctioned off to a different owner.[225][226]
Paul McDonald
17 April 2019
The 47-year-old was attacked and killed by a pet deer, said to be an elk, on his property in north-east Victoria, Australia.[227][228]
Joemar Jungco
22 June 2019
The 18-year-old worker at a meat processing facility in Iloilo City, Philippines, died after half his body from the head down to the waist was pulled into a meat grinder.[229][230]
Yulia Sharko
8 September 2019
The 21-year-old from Žabinka, Belarus, was celebrating her birthday with friends when she tried to pull her two-year-old daughter out through the window of her car. Her daughter activated the window control button, closing the window and strangling Sharko.[231][232]
2020s
Name of person
Image
Date of death
Details
Christian Bolok
26 October 2020
The 38-year-old lieutenant, who was the police chief of San Jose, Northern Samar, Philippines, died during a raid to shut down a cockfight, which the government had banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was trying to grab a cockfighting rooster when the razor-sharp metal blade attached to the rooster's leg to kill its opponent cut a gaping hole in his leg and sliced his femoral artery, causing him to bleed to death.[233][234]
Luke Ramone Harper
2 April 2021
The 8-year-old from Ringsend, Dublin, died after inhaling helium from a balloon that he placed over his head. The balloon had been bought for his birthday a week prior.[235][236]
The corpse of the 45-year-old leader of Love Has Won was discovered by police on 28 April 2021, with estimates placing her death c. 16 April 2021. Her remains were mummified and wrapped in a sleeping bag, decorated with Christmas lights; her eyes were missing, and her eye sockets had been decorated with glitter. An autopsy determined that she died of alcohol abuse, anorexia, and chronic colloidal silver ingestion.[237][238][239]
Unknown man
May 2021
The body of a 39-year-old man was found wedged inside the hind leg of a papier-mâché statue of a Stegosaurus in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Catalonia, Spain. Initial police reports did not suspect foul play. A police representative hypothesised that the individual may have crawled inside headfirst to retrieve a lost mobile phone before his leg became stuck, trapping him inside. Firefighters had to cut the statue apart to extract the body; police observers believed that he may have been trapped in there for "a couple of days". Local media claimed that the family of the victim had reported him missing only hours prior to the discovery. The body was discovered when a man and his son noticed an unusual smell from the statue, and saw the body through a crack in the statue.[240][241]
Unknown man
30 October 2021
A 30-year-old man was fishing with two friends at a lake in Brasilândia de Minas, Brazil, when the group was attacked by bees. He and his friends jumped into the lake to escape the bees, but the man drowned and was partially eaten by piranhas; his friends survived.[242][243]
Teddy Balkind
6 January 2022
The 16-year-old high school student for St. Luke's School, Connecticut, died after suffering an injury to his neck during a junior varsity ice hockey game. He died after he fell during a game and was accidentally hit by another player, who was unable to stop in time. The other player's skate blade cut Balkind's neck, and he died following an emergency operation.[244][245][verification needed][246]
Dolores Olive Boschert
24 May 2022
The 23-year-old paramedic was exercising alone on a Smith machine at a Planet Fitness gymnasium in St. Charles, Missouri, when she was pinned by a barbell due to unknown circumstances. Another patron found her 30 minutes later and she was pronounced dead at the scene.[247][248]
Maya Murmu
June 2022
Murmu was trampled by an elephant in Odisha, India. Later, at her funeral, what may have been the same elephant came back and attacked her corpse by picking up her body and throwing her in the air.[249][250]
Klil Kimhi
21 July 2022
The 32-year-old fell to his death when a sinkhole opened under a swimming pool he was in at a house party in Karmi Yosef, Israel.[251][252]
On August 5, 2022, while driving in Mar Vista, Los Angeles, the 53-year-old American actress crashed her Mini Cooper three times in close succession. The car crashed into a wall in an apartment complex parking area and into a Jaguar before embedding itself in a two-story house, which caught fire, trapping Heche in her burning car for 45 minutes. After being rescued, Heche sat up on her stretcher and struggled with firefighters, but then lost consciousness. Heche was declared brain dead on August 11 but was kept on life support until August 14 to preserve her organs for donation.[63][253][254][255][256]
Joseph Smith
21 January 2023
The 30-year-old man was shot and killed by his dog after the animal stepped on a loaded rifle in the back seat of his pickup truck, causing the gun to fire through the front passenger seat and hit him in the back. The driver of the truck, who was sitting next to Smith at the time of the accident, was unharmed.[257][258][259]
Barry Griffiths
June 2023
The 57-year-old Welsh man, who had suffered a stroke that reduced the mobility of one of his arms, accidentally stabbed himself in the stomach while attempting to separate frozen burgers with a knife. Atherosclerosis was also a contributing factor in Griffiths' death. Police did not discover Griffiths' body in his apartment until over a week after he died.[260][261]
Mikala Jones
9 July 2023
The 44-year-old was killed in a surfing accident in North Sipora, Indonesia, after the fin of his surfboard severed his femoral artery.[262][263]
On July 15, 2023, the 33-year-old Indonesian bodybuilder and influencer was squatting over 180 kilograms (400 lb) at a Bali gym, assisted by a spotter, when the weight snapped his head forward, breaking his neck. Vicky died in the hospital 2 days later.[264][265][266]
Giacomo Chiapparini
6 August 2023
The 74-year-old Italian was crushed under thousands of Grana Padano cheese wheels, each wheel weighing approximately 40 kilograms (88 lb), after one of the shelves in his warehouse collapsed.[267][268]
The 29-year-old member of the Nottingham Panthers professional ice hockey team died after his neck was cut by a skate during a game between the Panthers and the Sheffield Steelers.[269][270]
Sanjay Shah and Raju Datla
20 January 2024
The 55-year-old CEO of Vistex was celebrating his company's 25th anniversary at a movie studio stage in India. As part of the celebration, Shah and company president Raju Datla were being lowered from the ceiling to the stage in a cage or basket, when a cable broke and both men fell 20 feet (6.1 m), killing Shah and leaving Datla in critical condition.[271][272] Datla died of his injuries six months later.[273]
The 76-year-old member of the Kentucky Senate died of injuries sustained in an accident on September 15, 2024, when he drove a riding mower into an empty swimming pool.[276][277]
Lester C Harvey Jr
9 December 2024
A group of hunters chased a bear into a tree, and as the group retreated from the bottom of the tree, one hunter shot the bear. As the animal fell, it struck the 58-year-old from Phenix, Virginia, who stood about 10 feet (3.0 m) from the tree, killing him.[278][279] The bear also died.
References
^"Cannibal signs over media rights". BBC News. 3 September 2004. Retrieved 20 September 2024. Managing director Guenter Stampf said the documentary would "come to terms with an unusual criminal case".
^"German Cannibal Back on Trial". Deutsche Welle. 12 January 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2023. "This unprecedented act in German legal history should be judged as killing on demand," defense attorney Joachim Bremer said, a crime that is punishable by a maximum five years in prison.
^Mikkelson, Barbara (4 February 2003). "Child Falls on Knife in Dishwasher". Fact Check. Snopes. Retrieved 9 August 2024. Although deaths in this manner are rare, there have been others. In 2001 a Vancouver man who collapsed from an undisclosed illness fell on sharp objects housed in an open dishwasher at his mother's home and expired of his wounds.
^Chen, David W. (1 August 2001). "Small Town Reels From Boy's M.R.I. Death". The New York Times. ...Michael was mourned at a funeral here in his hometown, less than 48 hours after he died from injuries caused by a freakish accident at Westchester Medical Center.
^Scott, Kirsty (28 May 2003). "Dishwasher fall kills woman". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2024. Jane McDonald was visiting a friend at a house in Airdrie in Lanarkshire when the freak accident occurred on Tuesday night.
^"Minister's shock at freak tragedy". BBC News. 29 May 2003. Retrieved 20 September 2024. The freak accident happened at the Church of Scotland manse of the Rev Sharon Colvin in Dunrobin Road, Airdrie, Lanarkshire, on Tuesday.
^Manning, Mary; Koch, Ed (18 August 2003). "Tourist's death on Strip worries county". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 7 August 2024. Rebecca Longhoffer, a 39-year-old tourist from Louisville, Ky., was electrocuted in what authorities are calling a freak accident about 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Las Vegas Boulevard South near Spring Mountain Road.
^Kaplan, Dina (18 August 2003). "Louisville Woman Killed in Freak Las Vegas Accident". WAVE. Retrieved 7 August 2024. A Louisville family is mourning a mother of four, 39-year-old Becky Longhoffer, who died in a freak accident in Las Vegas over the weekend.
^Mikkelson, Barbara (13 September 2003). "Was a Houston Doctor Decapitated by a Malfunctioning Elevator?". Fact Check. Snopes. Retrieved 7 August 2024. The accident itself is hard to imagine: the ill-fated physician was trapped between the doors of the cable-propelled elevator, then decapitated as the carriage ascended.
^"Family of decapitated passenger pleads mercy for driver". AccessWDUN. AP. 2 September 2004. The family of a man decapitated in a bizarre car accident is pleading with authorities to free his best friend, who was behind the wheel and apparently didn't notice that his passenger had been beheaded.
^Lewis, Gerrick (1 April 2007). "Movie tracks man's mysterious death". The Lantern. Retrieved 21 September 2024. "Zoo" is the controversial film that tells the story of the events surrounding Pinyan's bizarre death.
^"Stingray deaths rare and agonizing". WORLD. CNN. Reuters. 4 September 2006. Archived from the original on 21 September 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2024. Injuries caused by stingrays are relatively common but fatalities are extremely rare, with experts saying there are only one or two known cases in recorded Australian history.
^Watson, Richard (28 July 2015). "Litvinenko: A deadly trail of polonium". BBC News. Retrieved 23 October 2024. This was a hideous attack on a British citizen and one that obviously he had no chance of surviving," says [blood consultant Prof Amid] Nathwani. "I've been a consultant for over 20 years and I've never seen anything like this and I hope I never do again.
^Boggan, Steve (4 June 2007). "Who else was poisoned by polonium?". Russia. The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2024. ...Litvinenko had been poisoned by polonium-210, a radioactive material that had never before been dreamed of as a murder weapon.
^Poort, David (6 November 2013). "Polonium: a silent killer". Investigative. Al Jazeera News. Retrieved 23 October 2024. It has been used to kill a Russian former secret agent in a London hotel bar and is believed to have caused the death of several scientists, but despite the media attention it has drawn in recent years, only a few people have died from polonium poisoning.
^Blass, Evan (14 January 2007). "Woman dies trying to win a Wii". Engadget. Retrieved 21 September 2024. ...she lost her life in much more bizarre circumstances than the retail madness we witnessed in late November.
^"Water overdose kills woman in Wii challenge". The Guardian. 15 January 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2024. Water intoxication, also known as hyponatremia, is extremely rare and only usually affects endurance athletes, such as long distance runners.
^Harris, Harry (23 June 2007). "Flying fire hydrant kills man". Oakland Tribune. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2021. Motorcycle Officer Eddie Bermudez, who is investigating the death, said Friday it was "a million-to-one chance" that something like this could happen to someone.
^Mikkelson, Barbara (7 August 2011) [Originally published 27 June 2007]. "Fire Hydrant Death". Fact Check. Snopes. Retrieved 7 August 2024. While all traffic fatalities are tragedies to be grieved over, some happen in far more unusual fashion than others.
^Wilson, Tony (19 March 2008). "Man shot by killer robot". Gold Coast Bulletin. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2024. Suicide experts told The Gold Coast Bulletin that such machines were not unheard of, but were very rare.
^Wilson, Tony (20 March 2008). "Carpenter heard shots from suicide machine". Gold Coast Bulletin. Archived from the original on 13 October 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2024. Exit International director and euthanasia crusader Philip Nitschke described the suicide as 'very unusual'.
^Vitola, Giovana (24 March 2008). "Homem se suicida com ajuda de robô na Austrália" [Man commits suicide with help from robot in Australia]. BBC Brasil (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 September 2024. "Ele estava estendido no chão da garagem", disse aos jornais locais o carpinteiro, que descreveu a cena como "bizarra". ["He was lying on the garage floor", the carpenter told local newspapers, describing the scene as "bizarre".]
^"Leaping ray kills Florida boater". BBC News. 21 March 2008. Archived from the original on 25 March 2008. The force of the blow knocked the 57-year-old over and her head struck the deck of the vessel, in what officials called a "bizarre incident".
^"Blunt force trauma killed woman struck by ray". CNN. 21 March 2008. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. "It's just as freakish of an accident as I have heard," said Jorge Pino of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
^"Bombeiros dizem ser cada vez mais difícil encontrar padre" [Firefighters say it is increasingly difficult to find a priest]. Extra (in Portuguese). Reuters. 23 April 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2024. O padre de Carli partiu em seu vôo incomum na manhã de domingo... [The priest de Carli left on his unusual flight on Sunday morning...]
^"#TBT: Há 15 anos, o "padre do balão" desaparecia nos ares" [#TBT: 15 years ago, the "balloon priest" disappeared into thin air]. DOL – Diário Online (in Portuguese). 27 April 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2024. Um voo incomum marcou a memória dos brasileiros. Há 15 anos, a decisão de um religioso resultou em uma das histórias mais marcantes – e absurdas – do país. [An unusual flight marked the memory of Brazilians. 15 years ago, a religious man's decision resulted in one of the most remarkable – and absurd – stories in the country.]
^"Memorial held for Kenyan killed in helicopter crash". CBC News. CP. 22 May 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2024. There was a sad fusion of African hymns and hip-hop salutes as family and friends bid farewell to the son of a Kenyan cabinet minister killed last week in a bizarre helicopter crash in southeastern B.C.
^Halfpenny, Martin (19 November 2008). "Chainsaw death was 'carefully thought through suicide'". Home News. The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2024. "In the 15 years I have been sitting as a deputy coroner, this is the most bizarre case I can recall," Mr Burge said.
^Hayes, Kathryn (14 December 2012). "Suspended sentence in bestiality case". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 September 2024. Notwithstanding the "unusual circumstances" of that case, Judge Moran said he felt it right to extend his condolences to the family and friends of the deceased woman, some of whom were present in court today.
^Daniels, Serena Maria (1 April 2009). "O.C. man chokes to death on bait fish as kids watch". Orange County Register. Retrieved 19 September 2024. A Huntington Beach man is dead in what authorities are calling a "freak accident" after he choked on a piece of bait fish in front of a boat full of school children in Long Beach.
^"The Death of David Carradine and The Choking Game". The Legal Examiner Affiliate Network. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2024. The death of David Carradine, while bizarre, may actually shed some light on a dangerous practice engaged in by preteen and teenaged kids.
^"Bizarre details emerge in Carradine hanging". News. Press-Telegram. Associated Press. 1 September 2017 [Originally published June 5, 2009]. Retrieved 1 November 2024. Dr. Nanthana Sirisap, director of Chulalongkorn Hospital's Autopsy Center, told reporters that the autopsy was conducted because of the "unusual circumstances surrounding Carradine's death," but did not elaborate.
^"David Carradine". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 1 November 2024. But his resurgence was cut short following a tragic death under unusual circumstances...
^"Coyotes kill Toronto singer in Cape Breton". CBC News. 29 October 2009. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016. Bob Bancroft, a retired biologist with the Department of Natural Resources, said this kind of attack is extremely rare...
^"When coyotes attack". Explore. 22 February 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016. As headline writers across the continent tried to marry some unfamiliar words—fatal, coyote, mauling—most people who spend time outdoors found it hard to believe that coyotes had actually killed a human.
^Priestly, Kevin (28 March 2013). "Office of the State Coroner Findings of Inquest"(PDF). QLD Courts. Retrieved 25 October 2024. What might appear to be a freak accident may well be a preventable incident...
^"Spy last seen alive eight days before body was found in bag". The Guardian. Press Association. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2024. Police refused to categorise the death as a murder, despite the bizarre circumstances, and say he may have died innocently.
^"Crocodile blamed for Congo air crash". NBC News. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010. The plane was on a routine domestic flight from the capital of Kinshasa to a regional airport in Bandundu when the bizarre tale unfolded on Aug. 25.
^Whitaker, Sterling (2 November 2012). "Mike Edwards – Killed by a Hay Bale". Ultimate Classic Rock. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Mike Edwards had an interesting life to go along with his unusual death.
^Wainwright, Martin (27 September 2010). "Segway boss Jimi Heselden dies in scooter cliff fall". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2024. The flamboyant former miner at the head of the Segway scooter company has died in a freak accident by sliding on one of the miniature two-wheelers off a cliff.
^LaCapria, Kim (27 September 2010). "Owner of Segway pilots Segway off cliff, dies". The Inquisitr News. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Providing an example of cosmic irony for textbooks forevermore, the owner of the Segway company died in a strange Segway-related accident yesterday.
^"Millionaire Segway owner dies in cliff fall". Reuters. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2024. The incident, described as a freak accident in the media, was not being treated as suspicious.
^Peralta, Eyder (7 February 2011). "Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way". NPR. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013. "I have never seen this type of incident," said Sgt. Martin King, a 24-year veteran who noted the major arteries that could have been severed.
^"Man stabbed to death by cockfighting bird". BBC News. 8 February 2011. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011. "I have never seen this type of incident," Sgt Martin King, who had worked in the sheriff's department for more than two decades, told the Bakersfield Californian on Sunday, when the incident happened.
^McKnight, Zoe (7 June 2011). "Flying bear kills two in SUV". Canada. Toronto Star. Retrieved 24 October 2024. Two people were killed Monday after a freak series of collisions...
^"Equine expert killed as horse shoe sparks explosion heard 30 miles away". The Daily Telegraph. 13 February 2012. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. An equine expert, Erica Marshall, was killed when a horse she was treating in an oxygen chamber became spooked and kicked out, sparking a freak explosion which could be heard 30 miles away.
^Hiers, Fred (8 January 2016). "Mending Fences rehab center to open soon". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 1 November 2024. An employee and a horse died on the grounds in a freak accident in 2012, back when the facility was a high-end rehabilitation operation for injured horses.
^"Who, What, Why: How dangerous are swans?". BBC News. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2021. ...such incidents are very rare, says John Huston of the Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset, where there are 1,000 swans but no recorded attacks on humans in the colony's 600-year history.
^Delgado, Jennifer; Ruzich, Joseph (17 April 2012). "Man caring for swans drowns after one attacks him near Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 November 2021. ...Doug Stotz, a senior conservation ecologist with the Field Museum... said he has heard tales of people being attacked or injured from swans but has never heard of someone dying after a bad encounter.
^Zdanowicz, Christina (10 May 2013). "Family demands answers in Kendrick Johnson's death". CNN. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2024. But the bizarre circumstances didn't sit right with the family, even though they're not sure what happened to their son.
^Tinuoye, Kunbi (10 October 2013). "Kendrick Johnson family makes emotional plea for surveillance to be released". TheGrio. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2024. The parents of a Georgia teenager who died in unusual and suspicious circumstances held an emotional press conference Thursday on what would have been their son's eighteenth birthday.
^Gutierrez, Gabe; Black, Jeff (31 October 2013). "Feds to investigate mysterious death of Georgia teen Kendrick Johnson". U.S. News. NBC News. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2024. Federal investigators will probe the strange death of Georgia teen Kendrick Johnson, whose body was found rolled up in a gym mat at his high school in January, they announced Thursday.
^Mikkelson, David (14 August 2016). "The Strange Death of Elisa Lam". Fact Check. Snopes. Retrieved 7 August 2024. Even then, it wasn't until the unusual circumstances of her death by drowning were revealed that media interest in Lam's case surged.
^"Beaver kills man in Belarus". The Guardian. Associated Press. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2024. The character of the wound was totally shocking," said the village doctor Leonty Sulim. "We had never run into anything like this before.
^Jones, Simon (31 May 2013). "Beavers are born to bite wood, not people". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014. The headline "beaver kills man" is not one you will see very often. It appeared recently after a wild beaver attacked and killed an angler in Belarus – an event that is both tragic and highly unusual.
^Martins, Tabata; Mendes, Rosildo (12 July 2013). "Vaca cai de telhado e mata homem em Caratinga" [Cow falls from roof and kills man in Caratinga]. Hoje em Dia (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 September 2024. Um homem de 45 anos morreu de uma forma inusitada em Caratinga, no Vale do Rio Doce. [A 45-year-old man died in an unusual way in Caratinga, in the Rio Doce Valley.]
^"Python's strangling of 2 boys in Canada investigated". CBS News. 6 August 2013. Archived from the original on 9 August 2013. Snake expert John Kendrick, a manager at the Reptile Store in Hamilton, Ontario... called the strangling deaths "very unusual" but said African rock pythons tend to be a little more high-strung.
^"Python enclosure in N.B. boys' deaths had 'flaw'". CBC News. 14 August 2013. Archived from the original on 29 August 2013. This is, like, a one-in-a-million-shot deal that this would actually happen, and it did. It did. Unfortunately, it did.
^"Homem suspeito de Zoofilia é encontrado morto dentro de chiqueiro de fazenda em Tapurah" [Man suspected of Zoophilia is found dead inside a farm sty in Tapurah.]. Show de Notícias (in Portuguese). 20 January 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2024. ...J.R.N., de 52 anos, foi encontrado pelo proprietário da fazenda, que resolveu levar outro funcionário até a propriedade e ao chegar no local deparou com a cena inusitada, o funcionário estava sem vida e completamente nu... [...J.R.N., 52 years old, was found by the owner of the farm, who decided to take another employee and when he arrived at the place he came across the unusual scene, the employee was lifeless and completely naked...]
^"Porcos matam tarado que estuprava leitoa" [Pigs kill pervert who raped piglet]. Real Deodorense (in Portuguese). 21 January 2014. Bizarro. Polícia Civil informou que vítima estava embriagada; homem era caseiro do local [Bizarre. Civil Police reported that the victim was drunk; man was housekeeper of the place]
^"Homem morre ao tentar praticar zoofilia com uma porca no Mato Grosso" [Man dies trying to practice zoophilia with a sow in Mato Grosso]. AgoraRN (in Portuguese). 21 May 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2024. Um caso extremamente bizarro e com final trágico foi registrado na cidade de Sorriso-MT... [An extremely bizarre case with a tragic end was recorded in the city of Sorriso-MT...]
^Hamid, Hassan A. Hafidh; Haylins, Jerry; Griffin, James; Fantini, Alvino-Mario; MacNeill, Maureen; Laury, Scott, eds. (October 2014). "Christophe de Margerie (1951–2014)"(PDF). OPEC Bulletin. Vol. 45, no. 8. p. 3. Retrieved 25 October 2024. The tragic loss of Christophe de Margerie... in a freak accident in the Russian Federation in October will continue to reverberate within international energy circles and beyond for a long time to come.
^Santora, Marc (4 November 2014). "Falling Tape Measure Kills Man at Jersey City Construction Site". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2024. The three elements converged on Monday morning in a freakish accident, when a 58-year-old man died in Jersey City after being struck in the head by the tape measure after it fell some 400 feet.
^Guardian music (2 March 2015). "Brownstone's Charmayne Maxwell dies, aged 46". Music. The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2024. Charmayne "Maxee" Maxwell of R&B group Brownstone has died following a freak accident.
^Vincent, Peter (3 March 2015). "Charmayne Maxwell, Brownstone, death: More details emerge". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 September 2024. Further details have emerged about the freak accident that caused the death of R&B singer Charmayne Maxwell, 46, at her Los Angeles home last Friday.
^Lange, Stacy (30 March 2015). "Man Killed by Falling Headstone While Decorating Family Grave". WNEP-TV. Retrieved 10 June 2022. Bishop Joseph Bambera of the Diocese of Scranton released this statement: "It is unimaginable to think that a visit of a faithful couple to the grave of loved ones in anticipation of the celebration of Easter could have ended in such a tragic manner."
^Coughlin, Sara (26 October 2015). "Chelsea Ake-Salvacion Death Cryotherapy Chamber Spa". Refinery29. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Ake-Salvacion's autopsy has yet to be completed, and the coroner who examined her body is (quite accurately) calling her death a "freak accident."
^Marszal, Andrew (8 February 2016). "Indian bus driver 'killed by meteorite strike'". India. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2024. That is the only explanation authorities have for the bizarre demise of the 40-year-old... leaving authorities with no option but to declare the most unusual of deaths.
^Hauser, Christine (9 February 2016). "That Wasn't a Meteorite That Killed a Man in India, NASA Says". Asia Pacific. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2024. The news reported by Indian newspapers and picked up by many outlets around the world was startling...
^Keller, Cathryne (10 June 2016). "This Woman Was Killed by a Beach Umbrella". Women's Health. Retrieved 16 September 2024. ...today we're sad to share another freak accident from the shoreline: Fifty-five-year-old Lottie Michelle Belk died on Thursday after being struck by a stray umbrella at Virginia Beach.
^"Body of 2-year-old boy snatched by alligator recovered, sheriff confirms". Fox News. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2024. Demings said there had been no other recent reports of similar alligator attacks on the lake. "Disney has operated here now for 45 years and they've never had this type of thing happen here before," he said.
^Visser, Steve and Hassan, Carma (19 June 2016). "'Star Trek' actor Anton Yelchin dies in freak car accident". CNN. Retrieved 26 October 2024. Actor Anton Yelchin, 27, who played Chekov in recent "Star Trek" movies, was killed in a freak accident early Sunday morning, police told CNN.
^"Girl dies after elephant throws stone in Morocco zoo". Africa. BBC News. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2022. The zoo statement said the enclosure met international standards and said "this kind of accident is rare, unpredictable and unusual"... Phyllis Lee, scientific director of the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, says that targeted throwing of stones and branches by elephants is very unusual.
^Chan, Melissa (29 August 2016). "17-Year-Old Dies After Hickey From Girlfriend Causes Stroke". World. Time. Retrieved 1 September 2024. This is at least the second reported incident of a hickey causing a stroke. A hickey had caused a 44-year-old New Zealand woman to have a non-fatal stroke... Researchers at the time called the medical condition "a rare phenomenon."
^Bowerman, Mary (31 August 2016). "Can a hickey actually result in death? We asked a doctor". USA TODAY. Retrieved 3 November 2021. "It's possible this could happen, but it's very rare, and parents should be reassured it's not something that happens in a routine way," [physician Robert Glatter] said.
^Percy, Karen (26 June 2018). "Melbourne thunderstorm asthma victims left waiting for ambulances which had not been despatched". ABC News. Retrieved 1 February 2022. Emergency operations manager at Ambulance Victoria, Michael Stephenson, told the court that before the incident thunderstorm asthma was "not a term I had ever heard of, not a term I'd heard anyone in the organisation use ever."
^Davey, Melissa (9 November 2018). "Thunderstorm asthma deaths: ambulance dispatch 'unlikely' factor – coroner". Health. The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2022. The scale of the event "can be fairly described as unprecedented globally, both in terms of demands on first-line responders and the public health system, and in the nature and extent of the impact on individuals", [Coroner Paresa Spanos] said, although thunderstorm asthma was a known phenomenon among public health researchers and doctors.
^NBC News (31 December 2016) [Originally published December 29, 2016]. "Iowa State weightlifter dies in gym accident". WTHR. Retrieved 24 October 2024. One of his former coaches is calling it a "freak accident."
^Johnson, Alex (11 May 2017). "Florida Man Crashes Into Fire Hydrant and Drowns on 89th Birthday". NBC News. Retrieved 1 February 2022. "This is probably the first time I've heard of something like this happen, where somebody hits a fire hydrant and drowns," said Lt. Channing Taylor, commander of the Highway Patrol's Brevard County office.
^Carricarte, Lindsay (23 May 2017). "Nature Strikes Back: Notorious Hunter meets his Karma". Elephant Journal. Waylon H. Lewis Enterprises. Retrieved 1 January 2025. And to add to the peculiar twist of irony in this story, this is the very same park where Cecil the lion was illegally shot and killed by an American dentist trophy hunter in 2015.
^Williams, Doug (26 February 2020). "South African Elephant Hunter Crushed by Elephant". News. Outdoor Revival. Retrieved 1 January 2025. His death was certainly an ironic one, as he was pinned beneath and crushed by a massive elephant encountered by the hunting party he was leading.
^"Homem embriagado morre afogado em balde de água no Entroncamento de Jaguaquara" [Drunk man dies drowned in water bucket at Entroncamento de Jaguaquara]. Itiruçu Online (in Portuguese). 22 October 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2024. Raildo Matias Santos, de 49 anos, morreu de forma inusitada no Entroncamento de Jaguaquara neste domingo (22). [Raildo Matias Santos, 49, died in an unusual way at Entroncamento de Jaguaquara this Sunday (22).]
^"Homem embriagado morre afogado em balde de água no Entroncamento de Jaguaquara" [Drunk man dies drowned in water bucket at Entroncamento de Jaguaquara]. MídiaBahia (in Portuguese). 22 October 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2024. Um homem identificado por Raildo Matias Santos, de 49 anos, "Bigode" morreu de forma inusitada no Entroncamento de Jaguaquara neste domingo (22). [A man identified as Raildo Matias Santos, 49, "Bigode" died in an unusual way at Entroncamento de Jaguaquara this Sunday (22).]
^"Man who died after getting trapped in cinema seat named as Ateef Rafiq". Movies. The Guardian. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2022. Sources quoted in the Birmingham Mail described how the "freak" accident happened after Rafiq bent down to retrieve a phone, dropped between Gold Class seats, at the end of a movie.
^Hutton, Alice (11 April 2021). "Kyle Plush: $6million settlement for family of Ohio teen who was crushed to death in 2018". The Independent. Retrieved 16 September 2024. Kyle Plush, 16, used voice activation to twice call 911 in April 2018 after a freak accident in the minivan he drove to school in Cincinnati left him squashed behind a passenger seat in the parking lot of his high school.
^Emerson, Sarah (5 November 2018). "Why an Australian Man Died 8 Years After Eating a Slug". Vice. Retrieved 1 February 2022. The strange and tragic death of a 29-year-old Australian man last week has underscored the seriousness of a rare parasitic infection called "rat lungworm disease".
^Cramer, Maria (26 September 2020). "A Man Died After Eating a Bag of Black Licorice Every Day". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 November 2024. Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital said the unusual case highlighted the risk of consuming too much glycyrrhizic acid, which is found in black licorice.
^Price, Victoria (11 January 2019). "Florida man decapitated by helicopter". KSNV. Retrieved 17 September 2024. A gruesome freak accident took place Thursday afternoon at the Brooksville Tampa Bay Regional Airport.
^Maruf, Sitara (29 March 2019). "Scientist and Aviator Julian Nott Dies After a Bizarre Accident". LTA – Science & Flight Magazine. Retrieved 24 October 2024. Nott passed away peacefully in a hospital, on Tuesday, after suffering serious injuries in what seems to be a bizarre capsule accident after a successful balloon flight and landing.
^"Highland hotel guest died after being trapped by bench". BBC News. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2024. This incident was an isolated one, devastating and a great shock for the family. The circumstances here are unusual and extremely rare.
^Epstein, Kayla (15 April 2019). "Florida man killed by cassowary he kept on his farm". North America. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 October 2024. There have been a handful of frightful encounters with the birds, mostly in Australia, though the last known death happened in 1926, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
^Rosen, Eve. "Autopsy reveals man's wounds after deadly bird attack". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 24 October 2024. The Florida man killed in a bizarre attack earlier this year by a cassowary, one of the world's deadliest birds, suffered deep puncture wounds and slashing cuts from the animal's sharp talons that severed a major artery in his arm, according to a newly released autopsy.
^Fowler, Michael; Mannix, Liam; and Eddie, Rachel (17 April 2019). "Father dead, mother fights for life after pet deer attack near Wangaratta". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 October 2024. Mr Howlett said that deer can become a danger to humans in domesticated scenarios. "It's not an everyday occurrence, but it's not unheard of for deer to kill people in that situation," he said.
^Gutierrez, Jason (29 October 2020). "Rooster Kills Police Officer in Covid-19 Lockdown Raid". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2024. He was wounded in his femoral artery on the left leg and lost a lot of blood," Colonel Apud continued. "Within minutes, he died. It was a freak accident.
^Lea, Mathilde (5 June 2022). "Bursdagsballongen ble åtteåringens død" [The birthday balloon was the eight-year-old's death]. Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 14 September 2024. Det var en fullstendig bisarr ulykke, sier hun. ["It was a completely bizarre accident," [Mora] says.]
^Romão, Raianne (1 November 2021). "Para fugir de abelhas, homem pula em lago, se afoga e é atacado por piranhas" [To escape bees, man jumps into lake, drowns and is attacked by piranhas]. Jornal do Commercio [pt] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 14 September 2024. Um ataque nada comum aconteceu a um grupo de amigos em Brasilândia, município que fica a cerca de 500km de Belo Horizonte, em Minas Gerais. [An unusual attack happened to a group of friends in Brasilândia, a city located about 500km from Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais.]
^Washington, Jessica (21 June 2022). "Did an Elephant Really Return to a Funeral for Vengeance? Y'all need to stop laughing!". News. The Root. Retrieved 4 December 2024. The bizarre (and possibly) true story of an elephant trampling an older Indian woman, Maya Murmu, to death, only to show up to her funeral (theoretically to make sure the job was done), and stomp on her again, understandably caught the attention of Black Twitter last week.
^MacDiarmid, Campbell (22 July 2022). "Swimming pool sinkhole sucks partygoer to his death". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 December 2024. A paramedic who responded to the call out described it as "a very unusual incident".
^"Actress Anne Heche Dies From Injuries Suffered in Mar Vista Crash into Home". News. The San Fernando Valley Sun. CNS. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2024. One week after a bizarre crash into a Mar Vista home, Anne Heche was declared dead at Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center, the family announced today, although the actress was kept on life support so her organs could be harvested for donation.
^Johnson, Kelli (14 August 2022). "Anne Heche dead at 53 after crashing into Mar Vista home". Entertainment. KTTV. Retrieved 2 November 2024. A week after a bizarre and horrific crash in Los Angeles' Mar Vista neighborhood, Daytime Emmy Award-winning actress and mother of two Anne Heche has passed away at the age of 53.
^Farhi, Paul (16 August 2022). "Why the media declared Anne Heche dead twice". Media. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 November 2024. But Heche's case was particularly unusual, with the date of death dependent on competing definitions of what it means to be dead.
^Vacchiano, Andrea (22 September 2024). "Man dies in freak accident involving frozen hamburgers: 'Difficult to hear'". World. Fox News. Retrieved 22 September 2024. During Monday's hearing, coroner Patricia Morgan said Griffiths had reduced mobility in one of his arms after a stroke, which likely led to the freak accident.
^"Man Dies in Freak Mishap at Bali Gym". Bali Discovery. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2024. A freak gym accident in Bali has claimed the life of a popular bodybuilder and personal trainer working in Denpasar, Bali, Justyn Vicky, aged 33.
^Warmington, Joe (31 October 2023). "Cops to take time probing Adam Johnson's skate-blade death". Toronto & GTA. Toronto Sun. Retrieved 9 September 2024. Hockey player Adam Johnson's life may have been taken from him in a flash, but the probe into his strange skate-blade death is going to take a lot longer... Was this bizarre incident a freak accident?
^"Virginia man dies after bear shot in tree falls on him". The Guardian. Associated Press. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024. Lester C Harvey, 58, [was] rushed to two different hospitals after being struck by [a] fallen animal in [an] unusual accident.
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