freak accident

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'Incalculable' Damage After Truck Hits Easter Island Statue

The unmanned vehicle was parked, but the brake apparently failed

(Newser) - For the Rapa Nui, the iconic moai statues of Easter Island are "sacred structures," Camilo Rapu, the head of the indigenous community there, tells CNN . That's why what went down in the Chilean territory Sunday has the locals distressed and wondering how to better protect the famous...

Falling Ice Kills Woman Right After Talk About Mortality

Linda Freedman Scharrenberg and her husband had been having a cocktail outside

(Newser) - A couple who had been married for nearly 50 years had just enjoyed a cocktail on their deck, where they talked about their inevitable deaths. As they walked back inside their Vermont home, a heavy piece of ice slid off the roof and fatally struck 73-year-old Linda Freedman Scharrenberg in...

Falling Debris Kills Woman Near One of NYC's Busiest Corners

The 60-year-old suffered head trauma

(Newser) - A second harrowing story involving a New York City sidewalk is making headlines today: A 60-year-old woman was killed by a falling piece of building debris around 10:45am Tuesday as she walked in Manhattan. An NYPD rep says she suffered head trauma. Time reports the incident occurred on West...

College Gymnast Slips From Bars, Dies Days Later

Melanie Coleman was a junior at Southern Connecticut State University

(Newser) - An "unexpected accident" has claimed the life of a Connecticut gymnast. The Hartford Courant reports Melanie Coleman, 20, died two days after falling from the bars on Friday while practicing at Southern Connecticut State University. The 20-year-old junior was studying nursing, and the paper describes the Connecticut native as...

One Man Exited the Elevator. The 2nd Tried to, Was Killed

Horrific accident in NYC apartment building takes life of 30-year-old

(Newser) - A horrific accident in a New York City apartment building has left a 30-year-old tenant dead, and other residents say it's the result of ignored pleas to fix the site's elevators. Officials tell NBC New York that Samuel Waisbren was trying to exit an elevator in the lobby...

Boy 'Couldn't Get Out of the Way,' Is Impaled by Umbrella

The incident happened on a Massachusetts beach

(Newser) - The injuries aren't life-threatening, but the experience sounds harrowing all the same. A 13-year-old boy was impaled by a flying beach umbrella in Massachusetts on Friday afternoon, causing a serious injury to his left shoulder. ABC News reports the incident happened at Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester and quotes...

Lightning Lit Up the Skies. Then Her Toilet Blew Up

Marylou Ward's toilet exploded after lightning hit septic tank

(Newser) - Some people stay out of the shower during a lightning storm; Marylou Ward may be staying off the toilet during one from here on in. That's because, per FOX 13 , the Port Charlotte, Fla., resident is still cleaning up the wreckage in her bathroom and on other parts of...

They Were on Their Way to a Famous Bus. Suddenly, a Slip

Newlywed swept away trying to cross Alaskan river near bus depicted in Jon Krakauer's 'Into the Wild'

(Newser) - A trek in Alaska to see the "Magic Bus" ended in tragedy this week for a newly married couple from Belarus—both the same age as the man who famously died at the bus site. The Anchorage Daily News reports that 24-year-old Veramika Maikamava and Piotr Markielau, who Alaska...

Freak Accident at NC Beach Kills Father of 6
'Intense Wave' Kills
NC Beachgoer

'Intense Wave' Kills NC Beachgoer

Father of 6 died after neck broke, throat swelled up

(Newser) - A North Carolina man was killed in a freak accident while playing with three of his six children on an Oak Island beach. Relatives say a powerful wave Thursday broke 37-year-old Lee Dingle's neck and caused his throat to swell so much that his brain was deprived of oxygen,...

Death by Metal Drinking Straw Is Now a Thing

UK woman fatally impaled on straw stuck in lid

(Newser) - A coroner is warning people to never fix metal drinking straws in place after the truly horrifying case of an English woman impaled in the eye. Elena Struthers-Gardner died after collapsing on a 10-inch stainless steel straw she had stuck in a screw-top lid on a Mason jar-style drinking glass...

Poker Star Likely Electrocuted in Bath: Reports

Russia's Lilya Novikova was big on the Twitch streaming platform

(Newser) - A young poker star is dead in Russia, apparently after accidentally electrocuting herself while using a hair dryer in the bathtub. Local media report the body of Lilya Novikova was found by an elderly neighbor in the bathroom of her family's Moscow apartment days before her 27th birthday after...

'Billion to One' Lightning Strike Kills 2 Giraffes

Florida park says it couldn't force them to seek shelter

(Newser) - Lightning usually strikes the tallest object in the area. Unfortunately for two giraffes at a Florida wildlife park, it was apparently them. Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee says 10-year-old female Lily and Jioni, a 1-year-old male, were killed instantly by lightning during a storm early last month. The older giraffe...

They Tried to Jump the Bridge. They Didn't Make It

2 Texas men are dead after ill-advised leap in Louisiana

(Newser) - It's not really clear what was going through the heads of these two men from Texas this week, because they didn't live to tell the tale. It seems evident, however, that they made a fatal misjudgment. NBC News and the New York Post report that around 2am Friday,...

Man Dies on Birthday After Being Hit by Wave

'Sneaker' wave pulled Andrew Machi into the water on California beach

(Newser) - What was supposed to be a relaxing day fishing on his 39th birthday turned to tragedy for a California man, who died after a rogue wave pulled him into the water. The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office tells KRCR that Andrew Machi was casting lines on March 22 at Luffenholtz...

'Gifted' Student Dies in Freak Accident on Spring Break

Margaret Maurer struck by tires detached from tractor-trailer

(Newser) - Tracy Maurer was supposed to visit New Orleans' Tulane University to see her daughter graduate in May. Instead, she'll be planning a funeral for Margaret "Meg" Maurer, per KSTP . The 21-year-old from Forest Lake, Minn., was killed at a highway rest stop in Mississippi on Tuesday in what...

NYC Subway Train Drags Man to His Death

39-year-old got caught on moving train at Grand Central

(Newser) - Commuters packed onto a subway platform at New York City's Grand Central Terminal witnessed a horrifying scene Tuesday as a man was snagged by a moving train and dragged into a tunnel. The unidentified 39-year-old was walking on the yellow caution line on the edge of the platform around...

Couple Visiting San Diego Die in 'Freaky Accident'

A 75-foot pine fell on their rental home

(Newser) - A North Dakota couple died while vacationing in San Diego when a 75-foot-tall pine tree crashed onto their rental house as they slept, relatives and police say. Troy and Jessica Nelson ran a promotional products and apparel company, Trojan Promotions, in Grand Forks. They were spending the weekend at the...

Couple Lie on Dark Road to Watch Eclipse. Uh-Oh

Slow-moving police car runs over them; injuries aren't life-threatening

(Newser) - A Florida police department says an officer ran over two people who were lying in a dark roadway to watch Sunday night's lunar eclipse . In a statement to the Palm Beach Post , West Palm Beach Police said the man and the woman were treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening...

Their Families at Church, They Played in the Snow. Then, Tragedy

12-year-old Esther Jung died outside Chicago after snow fort collapsed on her

(Newser) - A 12-year-old girl has died after a snow fort collapsed while she was playing outside a church in suburban Chicago. Arlington Heights police are calling the death a "tragic accident," the AP reports. Police say the girl, Esther Jung, was playing with a 9-year-old girl in the snow...

Woman Dies After Getting Caught in Clothing 'Death Trap'

She's at least the 8th fatality in Canada in 4 years to become trapped in donation bin

(Newser) - A woman in Toronto died after she became stuck in a clothing donations bin, reports NBC News . Police don't suspect foul play. The unidentified woman, found early Tuesday morning, apparently reached in too far, either to put in or pull out clothes, and could not get back out. Her...

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