Unusual Accidents and Deaths Many people are interested in stories of unusual accidents — some of these stories have happy endings , but some , unfortunately , have unhappy ones . Unhappy ENDINGS According to the legend , the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus was killed when an eagle dropped a tortoise on his head . The bird was trying to break the tortoise's shell on a rock in order to eat it . Aeschylus was bald , and the eagle thought the unfortunate man's head was a good rock on which it could break the shell An eight - foot tall ostrich was seen weaving through heavy traffic on a Saudi Arabian highway , near Abha . One of the drivers filmed the scene and uploaded it on the internet . No one tried to stop and catch the 180 - kg bird that was taller than humans and ran at almost 70 km per hour . It had probably escaped from a farm and ran into heavy traffic instead of the wild . Some people worry about being hit from things falling from outer space . There is only one person in all recorded history who has been killed by a meteorite - Manfredo Settala . The tragedy happened in 1680 . Ahmad Ali lost his eight - year - old son in a drowning accident at a friend's house . His son had been invited to join other children at a friend's house to play and swim in the pool . According to the invitation a lifeguard was going to be present . The young boy was really excited and begged his father to let him go . So , Ahmad Ali picked him up from school and drove him to his friend's house before 1:00 p.m. That was the last time he saw him alive . HAPPY ENDINGS A German soldier was riding in the back seat of a World War I plane when the engine stalled as a result of an unusual gust of wind . He fell out of his seat while the plane was high above the ground . As he was falling , the plane's engine started again , and he landed back in his own seat . The pilot was then able to land the plane safely . Bob Hail jumped out of an airplane in November 1972 , but his main parachute failed to open . His backup parachute also failed . Bob dropped about 3,000 feet ( 900 meters ) at 80 miles ( 128 km ) per hour and hit the ground face first . After a moment he got up and walked away with only minor injuries . It was an amazing escape . In September 2007 , Phil Lamattina escaped death when he was driving at over 300 miles ( 500 km ) per hour in a drag race in Brisbane , Australia . Phil was racing down the track when his car became airborne , split in two , and burst into a fireball . He was knocked out , but he survived . Although he was in the midst of the ball of fire , Phil was burned only on the tip of his finger . When his brothers later showed him the video of the accident , Phil couldn't believe he was watching himself — and that he had such a lucky escape . Railroad worker Phineas P. Gage was working with some dynamite when it exploded unexpectedly . A bar that was 3 feet ( 1 meter ) long and that weighed 13 pounds ( 6 kg ) went clear through his head . He remained conscious , but was unable to see out of his left eye . After a while , his sight returned , and he fully recovered .