Man dies and comes back to life after ambulance runs over pothole

Death is a mysterious thing. Coming into 2024, we are mostly focused on the future - and on keeping our new year’s resolutions. However, sometimes our thoughts do turn to darker subjects.

Recently, we discovered that dying actually starts around two weeks before you take your final breath. We have also heard from a man who fell off a cliff and lived to tell the tale, as well as a woman who died for a whopping 40 minutes before coming back to life. Now, we have a particularly crazy story involving a ‘dead’ man, a pothole and an apparent resurrection.

How a pothole saved this man’s life

Darshan Singh Brar lived in Nising, India. He was 80 years old and not been in very good health for a few days. One of his grandsons took him to hospital near Patiala to get him medical help. There, he was put on a ventilator for four days until on Thursday 11 January 2024, he was declared dead and taken off the ventilator.

His body was to be transferred in an ambulance to Nising, which was about 100 km away, for his last rites. Brar’s grandson let family members know that the 80-year-old had passed away, and rode in the back of the ambulance with what he thought was his grandfather’s corpse. The vehicle went over one of the region’s numerous potholes and jolted the passengers, and then the unbelievable happened: Brar’s hand moved.

Shocked, Brar’s grandson quickly checked for a heartbeat and, upon feeling a pulse, told the ambulance to take his grandfather to the nearest hospital. Doctors at the hospital confirmed that he was alive and breathing.

He has since been transferred to a different hospital and is currently in critical condition.

The family and doctors were shocked by what happened

Brar’s family and friends were truly shocked by the news. Another of Brar’s grandsons, Balwan, said:

We had informed our relatives and other local residents who knew him and they had already gathered to mourn his passing. A tent had been set up and food had also been arranged for the mourners. We had also got wood for the cremation.

It is a miracle. Now we are hoping that my grandfather recovers soon. Everyone who had gathered to mourn his death congratulated us.

Doctors at Rawal hospital, where Brar is currently being treated, were equally as surprised. Dr Netrapal tried to find a rational explanation:

We cannot say that the patient had died. When he was brought to us, he was breathing and had blood pressure as well as a pulse. We don't know what happened at the other hospital, whether it was a technical error or something else.

The doctor explained that Brar is in the ICU, and his ‘breathing is laborious because he has an infection in his chest’.

His family are grateful for this incredible accident and are hoping the 80-year-old will recover soon.

Read more:

⋙ Man who died for 28 minutes reveals what death was like

⋙ This girl died and came back to life after horrific horse-riding incident, here's who she saw in heaven

⋙ What happens when God cries? This radio host died for 8 minutes, met God, and found out

Sources used:

NDTV: 'Dead Man' Comes Alive After Ambulance Hits Pothole In Haryana: Family

India Times: 80-year-old Haryana Man Declared Dead 'Comes Back To Life' After Ambulance Runs Over Pothole