freak accident

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Man Loses Fingertips on Pirates of the Caribbean

Officials aren't entirely sure how

(Newser) - A UK tourist lost two fingertips on his right hand while riding on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Florida yesterday. The man lost the tips of his ring and pinky fingers and was taken to a hospital, the local fire department...

Man's Whole Body Pulled Through Wood Chipper

It's not clear how worker fell in while landscaping

(Newser) - It was, as a witness pointed out, like a scene from a movie, and "horrifying": A landscape worker died yesterday afternoon in Davie, Fla., when he fell into a wood chipper; his entire body was pulled through. "I look outside and I see some piles of blood,"...

Boy, 2, Dies in Freak Accident at Fisherman's Wharf

He was crushed by falling dolphin statue

(Newser) - A Utah family's visit to San Francisco ended in horror when their 2-year-old son died after a freak accident outside a Fisherman's Wharf antique store. Police say Kayson Shelton climbed up on a large, heavy dolphin statue, causing it to tip over on him, reports the San Francisco ...

'Coffee Legend' Killed by Coffee Machine

Coffee world in mourning after freak accident

(Newser) - One of the country's best-known coffee experts was killed in a freak accident over the weekend—by a coffee machine. Police say Jim Karr, 48, was setting up the large machine in a park tent ahead of Chicago's Bike the Drive festival when he lost his balance, tried...

Guy Gets Chainsaw Stuck in Neck, Survives

Blade missed tree trimmer's arteries

(Newser) - A Pennsylvania tree trimmer is incredibly lucky to be alive after an accident that left him with a chainsaw blade embedded in his neck. James Valentine, 21, was pruning trees when the saw kicked back and hit him in the neck, the AP reports. His colleagues removed the motor but...

Man Survives Trip Into Wood Chipper

Frank Arce's lower body was mangled in '10 seconds of hell'

(Newser) - Frank Arce of Longview, Washington, has a broken pelvis, broken leg, seven broken ribs, a shattered ankle, a bruised liver, a collapsed lung, and assorted other injuries—but he went into a wood chipper-like machine last week and lived to tell the tale. The wood products worker's 10 seconds...

Worker Prepping for Storm Killed by 100-Foot Salt Pile

He suffocated, say police

(Newser) - With a storm expected to dump more than a foot of snow on parts of the Northeast, cities throughout the region spent Thursday preparing—in one case with deadly consequences. A worker in a Philadelphia-area salt yard was killed yesterday afternoon after a 100-foot-tall rock salt pile collapsed on him....

Woman Crushed to Death in Freak Drawbridge Accident

She was on bridge when it was raised, was killed as it was lowered

(Newser) - A horrific accident in Boston, where a woman was crushed to death in a freak drawbridge accident yesterday. The woman was walking over the Meridian Street bridge when it was raised for a boat; the bridge operator heard her screaming and lowered the bridge—but the woman, clinging to one...

Guy Kills Self, Accidentally Shoots Neighbor

Cops believe bullet passed through man's head

(Newser) - A Florida man who killed himself during an argument with his girlfriend almost took an unsuspecting neighbor with him, police say. The woman stepped outside her cousin's house to take a phone call and was shot through the leg by what investigators believe was the same bullet that had...

Teen's Hobby Kills Him in Gruesome Accident

Model helicopter session in NYC park turns deadly

(Newser) - A 19-year-old in New York City died in a gruesome freak accident yesterday when he was hit in the head by the remote-control helicopter he was operating. Police say Roman Pirozek died almost instantly when he was hit by the machine's 2-foot-long blades, which sliced his neck and took...

Girl, 9, Dies in Freak Trampoline Accident

Gust of wind threw backyard trampoline 150 feet

(Newser) - A 9-year-old southern Utah girl is dead after a strong wind gust picked up the backyard trampoline she was sitting on and sent it flying more than 150 feet. Garfield County sheriff's officials say Oaklee Sidwell was playing with friends on the trampoline in her backyard Tuesday in the...

Haunted House Worker Found Caught in Noose

Police probing Creepyworld accident

(Newser) - The horror wasn't all make-believe at St. Louis-area haunted house Creepyworld Thursday night. A 17-year-old worker at the attraction is in critical condition after being found hanging from a noose that was being used as a prop, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The young woman, whose job was to...

Spanish Cyclist Dies in Freak Accident

Xavier Tondo was crushed between his car and garage door

(Newser) - Spanish cyclist Xavier Tondo died in a freak accident today after he was crushed between his car and a garage door in southern Spain, a Civil Guard spokesman said. Tondo, 32, was reportedly trying to take his car out of the garage and got out of the car to try...

Yale Student Suffocates in Freak Lab Accident

Promising science major Michele Dufault mourned

(Newser) - Yale University is mourning a young woman killed this week in a horrific lab accident. Michele Dufault's hair was caught in a lathe in a chemistry lab's machine shop, and the quick-spinning machinery pulled her in, choking her. The medical examiner determined that the 22-year-old senior died from accidental asphyxia...

Bride-To-Be Paralyzed by Bachelorette Party Prank

Accident leaves Rachelle Friedman unable to walk, wed

(Newser) - A North Carolina woman was paralyzed after a bachelorette party prank, and the accident has left her unable to walk and to wed because of health insurance trouble. A month before she was to marry boyfriend Chris Chapman, Rachelle Friedman was partying with her girlfriends when they decided to take...

Segway Accident Kills Segway Co. Owner

Jimi Heselden dies after going over cliff

(Newser) - Jimi Heselden, the multi-millionaire who bought the Segway company in December, died in a freak accident involving one of his own two-wheelers. The 62-year-old rode off a cliff and into a river while inspecting the grounds of his UK estate yesterday, reports the Daily Mail . The death of Heselden, one...

Baseball Fan Falls From Upper Deck

Man tries too hard to catch a foul at Rangers game

(Newser) - A Rangers-Indians game ground to a terrifying halt in Texas last night when a man flipped over the upper deck railing and plunged 30 feet to the seating area below. The fan was sitting in the front row, and reached out too far trying to catch a foul ball, witnesses...

Falling Tree Branch Kills Baby in Central Park

Freak accident injures mother of 6-month-old

(Newser) - A 6-month-old girl is dead and her mother hospitalized after a branch fell 40 feet from a tree and hit them as they posed for pictures at the Central Park Zoo yesterday. Karla DelGallo of New Jersey had Gianna Ricciutti in her arms and "was trying to get away...

Freak Accident Nearly Kills Grand Prix Racer

Car part bounces off track, fractures Felipe Massa's skull

(Newser) - A Brazilian auto racer is in “life-threatening,” though stable, condition after a spring from another car bounced off the track and hit the driver in the helmet, knocking him unconscious as he drove into a barrier, the Independent reports. Felipe Massa’s surgery for multiple skull fractures was...

Google Mentor Dead in Freak Swimming Accident

(Newser) - A Stanford computer science professor who mentored Google's founders has drowned in his swimming pool, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Rajeev Motwani, 47, who could not swim, drowned at his Atherton, Calif., home, leaving a wife, two daughters, and many admirers in Silicon Valley. “It's a rare combination...

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