My near death experience happened April 8, 2000. I was 14 years old 

living in Fresno. My older brother got a call from his daughter’s mom who lived in Oceanside at the time that he needed to come and pick up his 2 year old daughter—something had happened to the place that they were living. So before we left he and my mom had gotten into an argument and she was telling him that he needed to go and pick the baby up. So we got in contact with two family friends in order to get a ride.

Upon leaving the condos that we live in we had a black cat cross the path of the car and I have always been cautious of black cats so after that happened I really didn’t want to go anymore because something didn’t feel right, but I went anyway. Got there some hours later and it was late so we saw the baby and went to sleep. The next day me and my brother hung out all day playing pool and just hung out which was really weird. Because of the age difference we would hardly ever hang out as much, but that day was different. He was super nice, showing me a lot of love and affection.

So our plan was to go to the beach before we left, but we didn’t, so we got on the freeway and we stopped and said a prayer that God would get us there safely. We carried on with the trip, stopped in Palmdale to visit the owner of the car’s dad, and we where supposed to spend a night because we were kind of tired. But I told the driver that if he gets tired before we get home I would drive even though I didn’t have a license. So we carried on and I had to use the bathroom but there were no stores in sight so we pulled to a side street and I went to urinate and when I did I saw a pink piece of paper pinned to a pole that said “hell is near.” I thought that was weird. I got back in the car and we all fell asleep. I was in the passenger seat, my brother behind me, baby in the middle, and the owner of the car behind the driver’s side seat.

I woke up to the screeching sound of tires and the car was going from one side of the road to the other side, and then we hit a pole and the car burst into flames. At that moment it’s like my body left the car as I floated, looking down at my body still in the car burning. Then in a blink of an eye I was now in a place with big beautiful grass flowing and beautiful waterfalls and soft instruments playing and I was like floating over the landscape. From there I started into a tunnel with this unbelievable bright light and as I got closer and closer to the end of this tunnel I saw this human like figure at the end. Once I get there it was more like a shadow and he says, “Son, its not your time yet,” and in that instant I snapped back. I’m now outside of the car, back in my body.

By this time the car is engulfed in flames. I tried to get my brother out and I opened the door even though it was burning and I saw my brother leaned over the baby car seat as if he was trying to protect the baby. So then I ran to the driver’s side and the driver was outside of the car and the other passenger had been thrown outside the car in the field. He had minor burns but the driver had none. He called my mom on the phone, screaming we got into a wreck and your kids are dead. Then he passes out. Then a lady pulls up and I tell her that I need to lay in her seat. She tells me no and I just laid in there anyway. Then I fainted and woke up at the hospital.

I see my mom. I’m in shock. I tell her B and the baby are fine—they’re at the other hospital. Then I went into a coma for a month, stayed in the hospital for 9 months, had 19 surgeries, and I finally made a full recovery.