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When you think of impalement, images of Vlad the Impaler or other notorious medieval torturers may come to mind. However, this gruesome practice is more than just a dark chapter in history; it's a harsh reality, one that has touched the lives of the 10 individuals featured in this list.
Being impaled on spikes, rods, fences, or branches is a truly nightmarish ordeal. The fragility of the human body makes it shockingly easy to envision becoming a human kebab. Brace yourself for the horrifying truth.
10. Phineas Gage
At the age of 25, Phineas Gage was a foreman overseeing the construction of a US railroad when disaster struck during the creation of a new railway. While using a tamping iron to pack explosives into a drilled hole in a rock, the iron scraped against the rock, triggering sparks that set off the explosives, sending the rod straight through Gage's head.
After several minutes of unconsciousness, Gage regained consciousness and was able to speak clearly. Though he survived, his personality was drastically altered. Those who once knew him as affable and dependable now found him abrasive and disagreeable. His loved ones remarked that he was "no longer Gage."
It’s challenging to determine the exact extent of these personality shifts, as there is little information about Gage’s behavior prior to the incident. Furthermore, there are varying views within the scientific community regarding how long these changes persisted.
Phineas Gage's case has been extensively studied by neuroscientists aiming to better understand the complexities of the brain and its functions. Gage passed away 12 years after the accident, and both his skull and the rod that impaled him are preserved at the Warren Anatomical Museum at Harvard Medical School.
9. Unnamed Woman
In Saran district, Bihar, a 17-year-old girl fell from the roof of a construction site building and landed on three iron rods embedded in a cement pillar. The rods pierced through her lower torso and remained lodged there for 10 to 12 hours. Emergency responders had to cut the rods from the building's foundation while carefully supporting the girl to prevent further injury.
The girl was safely detached from the pillar and rushed to Ruban Patliputra Hospital, where she underwent a five-hour surgery. Remarkably, the rods narrowly missed any vital organs. She survived the procedure and spent time recuperating in the hospital.
8. Li Jen
Li Jen, a 37-year-old construction worker in China, found himself locked out of his apartment. Instead of calling a locksmith, he decided to climb up the side of the building to reach his balcony. Unfortunately, he slipped and fell 15 meters (50 feet).
After landing on a lamppost that impaled him through the shoulder, Li Jen was left suspended in mid-air. Firefighters had to cut the lamppost and transport both him and the pole to the hospital. It took three hours to remove the pole, but miraculously, it missed all of Li Jen's vital organs.
Had the lamppost not stopped him, his injuries could have been much worse. Doctors stated that Li Jen was expected to make a full recovery.
7. Unnamed Man In Sweden
During the height of the Pokemon Go craze, an unnamed man broke into Stockholm Olympic Stadium to catch a Pokemon. He wasn’t paying attention and fell, impaling his thigh on a metal fence.
Police arrived on the scene and had to carefully hold the man in place while medical personnel administered a morphine injection to help him endure the pain as he was safely removed from the fence. The fence was several meters high, making the task particularly challenging.
The man was then transported to a nearby hospital. "We had to lift him off, and the medical team took over and drove him to the hospital. It’s a few meters high, high enough that you need to climb anyway," said Goran Norman, an emergency control room officer.
6. Josh Hassan
Twelve-year-old Josh Hassan was impaled through the chest when he leaned over a fence to search for his football. Hearing his screams, his mother rushed to help. She, along with two other people, held him in place to prevent further damage from the fence spike.
After a fire department crew cut the railing free from the fence, Josh was swiftly taken to the hospital for surgery. The doctors informed the family that the spike had narrowly missed his heart by less than 8 centimeters (3 inches).
"The spike went through my jacket and pierced me. I was hanging there. I looked down and saw the skin flapping. I screamed for my neighbor, who came to support me so the injury wouldn’t worsen," Josh recalled. He was released after two days in the hospital and decided to keep the spike as a souvenir.
5. Stephen Schultz
Stephen Schultz, an American visiting Panama, was fishing with his family and struggling to reel in a massive fish when, after 25 minutes, the creature leapt onto the boat and impaled Stephen in the face. The fish was a 270-kilogram (600 lb) marlin, and its snout pierced Stephen's cheek and nasal cavity.
He later recalled: "[The fish] jumped once, facing away from the boat and turned midair. It was about 5 meters (15 feet) away. Then it returned to the water, made another jump toward the back of the boat, and its bill struck me on the left side of my face, knocking me to the ground."
Stephen was quickly transported to the hospital and, miraculously, survived with only minor injuries and no visible scars. The entire incident was filmed by Stephen's sister, who remarked: "I wasn’t too sure what happens when you go deep-sea fishing. I wasn’t sure if they were supposed to get that close, so I thought I’d capture it on film. Then it was in the boat. Before I could react, it was already at us. So I just kept filming."
After impaling Stephen, the marlin swam away and disappeared back into the sea.
4. Lucia Perez
Lucia Perez, a 16-year-old girl, had just finished her school day when she was abducted by a gang. The harrowing ordeal she faced included being drugged, assaulted, and subjected to brutal violence before being impaled. Her attackers cleaned her up, dressed her again, and left her at a drug rehab center. Tragically, Lucia succumbed to the injuries she sustained during the attack.
The tragic death of Lucia Perez shook the Argentinian community to its core, leaving her family devastated. In response, a group of activists staged a sit-in, and many women wore black to protest the alarming number of murders of women in the country. Two men were arrested in connection with the crime, and a third man, suspected of aiding in the cover-up, was also detained by the authorities.
3. Sean Rontrea
In Brooklyn, New York, 29-year-old Sean Rontrea's life took a shocking turn when he fell five stories from his apartment building. He landed on a spiked fence, the sharp metal puncturing his chest. The scene was gruesome, with blood covering the area as emergency responders arrived.
Suspended just one meter (3 feet) above the ground, Sean could be heard crying out, “Get this thing out of me.” The rusty, blunt spike had come dangerously close to his heart and other vital organs. Paramedic William Ritter described the scene, saying, “It’s not every day you see a guy impaled on a fence like he was suspended in space.”
To safely remove Sean from the fence, paramedics used a portable saw. To prevent additional injury, they supported his weight with a garbage can. He was then rushed to the hospital, still attached to a 1.2-meter (4-foot) section of the fence. Surgeons took on the challenging task of removing the spike from his body once he arrived.
2. Margaret Reynolds
Margaret Reynolds, a 67-year-old woman from the UK, was enjoying a vacation at a New Jersey beach when a sudden gust of wind caused an umbrella to impale her through the ankle. Reflecting on the incident, Reynolds said, “It was a beautiful day, and a gust of wind blew the umbrella.” She referred to it as an accident.
As soon as the umbrella struck, onlookers heard Margaret cry out, “My leg!” A bolt cutter was used to detach her, but a portion of the umbrella had to be cut away. Throughout the ordeal, her friend held her hand for comfort. Margaret was then taken to the hospital, where she underwent surgery to remove the piece of umbrella lodged in her ankle. Authorities later confirmed that she was recovering well.
1. Justin Firth
While working on a fence in Idaho, Justin Firth suddenly saw a flash of light and felt an intense pressure in his back. Looking down, he was horrified to discover a spike protruding from his stomach. Justin had been impaled.
Panicked, his coworkers screamed for help and immediately called 911. Remarkably, Justin felt no pain other than the pressure in his back. When paramedics arrived, they realized they didn’t have the necessary equipment to remove the spike, which was attached to a front loader.
To solve the problem, his colleagues used a torch to sever the spike, and industrial putty was applied to protect Justin from the heat. He was airlifted to the hospital, where he underwent three and a half hours of surgery.
The spike narrowly missed Justin’s bladder, kidneys, and spine, by just a few centimeters. The trauma doctor commented, “It’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen because it was a potentially catastrophic injury that’s going to have a really great outcome.”
