The title of Discovery Life Channel’s new eight-part series, The Day I Almost Died, is fairly straightforward, and is about just what you might think it is: first-person accounts of people’s brushes with death.
In each episode, victims recount how they found themselves, either through dumb luck (like a woman thrown out of a boat when it hits a wake) or dumb actions (like a girl who attempts to “car surf”) in deadly situations within a matter of seconds.
Here are the episodes that make up The Day I Almost Died (descriptions from Discovery Life Channel; all times ET).
“Nailed” — July 11 at 10pm. When Christina realizes she’s going to be late to her morning meeting, she sends a text from her car while she is driving. In the moment she looks down to send it, her car careens into a guardrail, which spears through her car in an instant. Rebecca is enjoying the final day of summer on a boat with college friends. When they hit a wake, Rebecca is thrown into the water and sucked toward the boat’s propeller. Dan swallows swords for a living. But one performance nearly ends his career… and his life.
“Trial By Fire” — July 18 at 10pm. When a corn picking machine grinds up Sampson’s hand in the middle of a cornfield, it’s only the beginning of this farmer’s harrowing experience. Trapped by the machine, he’ll have to do the unimaginable before he narrowly escapes with his life. Joy’s home improvement project to build a new roof turns into a nightmare. When she “flat lines” just as she arrives at the hospital, doctors must take extraordinary measures to save her life. Janne’s life changes in an instant when he goes for a swim on a sunny hot day at a Southern California beach.
“Limb For Limb” — July 25 at 10pm. Young Jake is alone and bored and decides to go for a swim in the apartment complex pool. When he loses his key and can’t get out of the pool area, he tries to jump the fence, which has devastating consequences. When rodeo bull rider Jeffrey gets on a bull named Black Friday, he knows it won’t be an easy ride. But Jeffrey never expected it would almost kill him. Homeowner Pat gets out her miter saw to do some home repair work. In a moment of inattention, the saw blade slices down and takes one of her limbs with it.
“Earth, Surf & Fire” — Aug. 1 at 10pm. Truck mechanic Bruce is making his last repair of the day underneath a big rig. When a co-worker jumps inside the truck, it comes crashing off its jack and onto Bruce. High school student Hannah joins her friends on top of a car to go “car surfing.” When the driver runs a stop sign, Hanna is thrown from the car and into the street. Jonathan is hunting on opening day of deer season. When he attempts to hide one of his guns in his truck, it unexpectedly fires leaving Jonathan unconscious and alone.
The Day I Almost Died airs Saturdays at 10pm ET on Discovery Life Channel beginning July 11.