Buzz
We've all encountered the Final Destination films or at least are familiar with their central concept. Characters survive seemingly impossible situations that were meant to claim their lives, only for them to succumb to an unrelated fatal event shortly thereafter.
Death is an inevitable part of life, but these particular stories are too strange to dismiss as mere coincidence. Today, we explore instances where people managed to avoid death, only for it to come back to claim them soon after.
10. Hilda Yolanda Mayol
Hilda Yolanda Mayol worked at a restaurant in the World Trade Center. Fortunately, she was on the ground level and managed to escape during the horrific 9/11 attacks. Sadly, her good fortune was short-lived. Just two months later, she became one of the 265 victims of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Queens, New York, on November 12, 2001.
At 26 years old, Mayol was en route to the Dominican Republic to spend time with her mother and children. There were rumors suggesting that other passengers aboard the flight had also survived the 9/11 attacks, but these rumors were never substantiated.
9. Ye Meng Yuan
Ye Meng Yuan, just 16 years old in 2013, boarded Asiana Airlines Flight 214. She was traveling from China to Southern California for summer camp. Little did she know, this journey would lead to a nightmare.
The plane crashed because it was flying too low and too slow, causing a rough landing just before the runway. Ye Meng Yuan survived the crash but suffered injuries. After exiting the plane, she was lying on the ground and tragically was run over by a fire truck.
As a result, Ye Meng Yuan lost her life. The firefighters, on their way to put out fires that had broken out, accidentally struck Yuan. The crash and its aftermath led to three fatalities, including Yuan.
Numerous lawsuits were filed against the airline, including one from Ye Meng Yuan's parents. However, two years after the tragedy, they decided to drop the lawsuit. Their lawyer confirmed, “The parties have reached a confidential settlement on mutually agreeable terms.”
8. Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov
Everyone makes mistakes, don't they?
Yes, but some mistakes change everything. In 2011, Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov, 49, was declared dead by doctors after suffering a heart attack at home. However, she was not actually dead . . yet.
Mukhametzyanov revived at her own funeral, lying in a coffin. She screamed, only to collapse once more after experiencing another heart attack. She was quickly rushed to the hospital, but after 12 minutes, doctors confirmed her death a second time. Unfortunately, this time it was final.
Her husband explained, “Her eyes fluttered, and we immediately rushed her back to the hospital. But she only survived for another 12 minutes in intensive care before she passed away again, this time for good. I am furious and want answers.” He was deeply angry with the hospital and intended to sue.
7. David Furr
On December 13, 1977, the Purple Aces, the University of Evansville's men's basketball team, were traveling to Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for a game. Shortly after takeoff, their twin-engine plane lost control and crashed into a nearby field, killing all 29 people on board.
Twenty-five people died instantly on impact. Three others died at the crash site, and one more passed away in the hospital. The entire team was lost . . except for one player. Freshman David Furr survived because he hadn't traveled with the team due to an ankle injury.
Some might consider him fortunate, but his survival was brief. Just two weeks after the crash, David Furr and his brother were tragically killed when they were struck by a drunk driver. His death marked the end of the Purple Aces' basketball team as all its members had perished by the end of 1977.
6. Jessica Ghawi
Jessica Ghawi, who went by the professional name Jessica Redfield, was an aspiring sportscaster. In June 2012, she narrowly escaped the Eaton Centre food court shooting in Toronto. She had just ordered food when she decided to leave and eat outside instead of staying in the food court.
Moments after she left, a gunman opened fire in the food court, killing two people and injuring several others near where Jessica had been. She later shared that she had felt a strange sensation, urging her to leave the area, a feeling that ultimately saved her life.
Sadly, just a month later, Jessica Ghawi's life was taken during the devastating Aurora, Colorado, shooting. A gunman opened fire in a movie theater during the midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises, resulting in 12 fatalities.
5. Bobby Leach
Bobby Leach was a stuntman, and his career was built around taking on death-defying challenges. One of his most famous stunts nearly cost him his life when he went over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
After Sam Patch and Annie Edson Taylor survived their attempts to go over the falls, many other daredevils tried their luck. The key to surviving the jump was creating something to protect you when you hit the water below.
Sadly, many others lost their lives attempting the stunt, but Bobby Leach didn't let that deter him. He constructed a steel barrel, climbed inside, and plunged over Niagara Falls. He survived the drop, but he spent six months recovering in the hospital from his injuries.
Following his daring feat, Leach became a celebrity. He traveled the world sharing his story about his Niagara Falls adventure. But in an ironic twist, fate caught up to him in an entirely unexpected way.
In 1926, while in New Zealand, he slipped on an orange peel after delivering a lecture. This simple fall would tragically lead to the death of the famous stuntman. The injuries he sustained from the fall led to an infection, requiring the amputation of his leg. After the surgery, his health declined, and he passed away on April 26, 1926.
4. Phyllis Jean Ridings and Elzie Warren
In 2007, Phyllis Jean Ridings, 52, and her father, 70-year-old Elzie Warren, survived a plane crash. They were flying a homemade plane when the engine caught fire. Forced to make an emergency landing in a hayfield, they emerged unharmed. Ridings credited her father’s flying skills and her faith, saying, “I give all the credit to God and my father’s flying skills.”
Just four years later, in 2011, Ridings and Warren faced a similar crisis. While participating in the Experimental Aircraft Association, they were piloting an experimental plane to an air show in Texas when disaster struck again.
The cockpit began to fill with smoke, and despite their desperate attempts, they were unable to land the plane safely. It crashed in a fiery explosion, resulting in the deaths of both Ridings and Warren.
3. Jessica de Lima Rohl
In 2013, a devastating fire broke out in a Brazilian nightclub, killing over 200 people and injuring hundreds more. Jessica de Lima Rohl, 21, had helped organize the party. That evening, her boyfriend persuaded her to stay home, and although she had been involved in setting up, she agreed to his request.
Staying home likely saved Rohl’s life. A firework set off a deadly blaze when it ignited flammable foam on the nightclub's ceiling, killing or injuring hundreds of university students.
A few days after, Rohl went to meet her boyfriend at work. On their return journey, they became victims of an unexpected accident. The police stated that their car collided head-on with a truck. Rohl passed away instantly, and her boyfriend later died in the hospital.
2. Johanna Ganthaler
Johanna Ganthaler, a senior woman from Italy, was on vacation with her husband in Brazil. On May 31, 2009, they had a ticket for Air France Flight 447 to Paris, which tragically crashed into the Atlantic, claiming the lives of everyone aboard—228 people in total.
After missing the ill-fated flight, Ganthaler and her husband decided to travel to Europe the following day and rented a car to continue their journey. On their drive through Kufstein, Austria, their car veered into the opposite lane and collided with a truck. Ganthaler later passed away in the hospital, while her husband, though badly injured, survived.
1. Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey, a prominent Jamaican political figure, was a staunch supporter of Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism. As the founder of the Black Star Line, he sparked a global movement that championed the economic self-sufficiency of Africa. His ideology became known as 'Garveyism.'
On June 10, 1940, Garvey came across an obituary that detailed his supposed death, describing him as “broke, alone, and unpopular.” Stricken by this, Garvey experienced two strokes before passing away. While not fitting the traditional “cheating death” narrative, it’s as if Garvey had a premonition of his passing just moments before it occurred.
