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Some people think of chronic lateness as a cardinal sin. Others chalk it up to a simple character flaw. According to a 2005 ABC News poll, 15-20% of Americans are "consistently late" to work. Scientists now explain that lateness depends on more than just a person willing themselves not to be late. But whatever the cause, sometimes punctuality can save your life.
Recently, one netizen came online with an unusual prompt: "We've heard stories of people escaping [the afterlife] by being late. What are some tragic examples of people [passing away] because they were late?" Truly, after reading these stories, my habit of coming to the airport four hours early doesn't seem so insane.
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#1
Common scenario in high-altitude mountaineering. You pre-set a time where you have to turn around no matter what, but people run into delays and then the summit is *this* close and they don't stick to the plan. And then they're out at night and temperatures drop and oxygen runs out...
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#2
My aunt missed her flight out of Denver on July, 19 1989. She took United flight 232 instead, dying in a fiery crash in Sioux City, IA.
#3
My dad had a heart attack and waited 6 days to call an ambulance, when he was hospitalised we found out later it had caused half his heart tissue to die.
He died the day after Father’s Day 2021 and according to the nurses he was in a good mood speaking to them when he passed mid sentence. He’d been terrified of passing on Father’s Day itself as his father had died a couple of years ago on that day.
I still have mixed emotions about it because he thought himself too tough to accept medical help and knew what the symptoms of a heart attack were because his mother had heart issues. (I know that heart attack symptoms present different in men and women.)
He was a difficult patient when he had other medical issues but when he was in the hospital that time he was gentle as a lamb and very patient with the nurses and doctors. I thought it was eerie at the time but I think he knew what damage he’d caused himself and realised what was coming.
#4
A really haunting one is the Titanic sinking.
Most people think of the passengers who missed the ship as the lucky ones, but there were also cases where being late actually sealed someone’s fate. A few passengers only boarded at the last moment due to delays, missed earlier chances to switch ships, or were reassigned cabins some even ended up in worse locations on the ship because of it. If they’d been earlier, they might’ve had better access to lifeboats or even chosen a different voyage entirely.
Another example comes from the September 11 attacks. While there are well-known stories of people surviving because they were late to work, there were also tragic inverses people who *normally* would have been out of the towers but were delayed that morning for one reason or another and ended up being inside when the planes hit.
There’s also the Costa Concordia disaster, where confusion and delays in evacuation meant some passengers who hesitated or arrived late to muster stations missed lifeboats entirely.
What makes these stories hit so hard is how small the timing differences are minutes, sometimes even seconds. It’s one of those uncomfortable reminders that luck often plays a bigger role than people like to admit.
#5
My grandma died because she didn't want to worry us. She had several anginas over the course of a week and only told me, a 11 year old at the time. One afternoon she asked me to go with her to the ER. They sent her to the hospital (I went home, my aunt went with her) and spend the night waiting to be discharged since everything seemed ok. My aunt went downstairs to have a coffee; at her return, my grandma was no longer in the room, having passed away suddenly.
She was so good she went just like that.
#6
My pop, was meant to get heart surgery decided he would put it off to be home for Christmas to spend time with his kids(my dad was only 12) he ended up having a massive heart attack on the kitchen floor a few days after Christmas, and died. If he had gotten the surgery he would've lived most likely till I was born atleast.
#7
My mom ignored GI issues and constipation for months and months. By the time she finally got to the hospital she was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, sepsis, fluid in her lungs and all in her abdominal cavity, and she had a 50 pound tumor on her ovary (it had metastasized to pretty much everywhere) she died less than 22 months later.
#8
9/11. Everyone talks about the people who were late and survived, but my cousin's husband left extra early that day. He stopped to help an old lady carry her groceries, walked into his 98th floor office 2 minutes before the first plane hit. He never came home.
#9
A good friend of mine started coughing. He had a good job with good benefits (this is the US) and he was 40, but he went for the cheapest insurance option his company offered, so he was terrified of being stuck with paying a high deductible*. So, he put off going to the doctor. For weeks. Then, when coming downstairs, he started having real respiratory distress. One of his roomates, another friend of mine, tried to help him on the stairs, but he died of what turned out to be an advanced case of pneumonia. As I said, he was 40. It makes me angry to think about to this day.
#10
My father was late meeting me for dinner one night. We ended up meeting about an hour later than intended. When we left and were crossing the street he walked a bit ahead of me, I got distracted by a friend saying hi at the crosswalk. When I turned to catch up to my dad he was hit by a car driven by a man running from the cops going 60mph. If we had just met for dinner at the intended time we would have been done eating and home before that guy sped through the downtown area.
#11
Leslie Mahaffey. The second victim of Paul Bernardo amd Karla Homolka. When she was late for curfew, her parents locked her out of the house. That's when she ran into Bernardo.
Earthquake903 51 minutes ago
Kinda like those parents that had their son arrested for using the car without permission and wouldn't bail him out. They wanted to teach him a lesson. He was beaten to d e a t h by another inmate. I think he was only 16. Too young to be punished like that. Horrible parents.
#12
My uncle was supposed to be at a meeting on 9/11 and then meet my aunt and dad who was in town for work for a late breakfast. His meeting ran late and he never made it to breakfast.
#13
My mother neglected her medical issues and ended up in the hospital. On a Friday they said she was ready for discharge but she pleaded for a little more time because she was getting medical care and meals. Basically she didn’t want to leave. They said okay, we will discharge you first thing Monday morning.
At 5am on Monday she developed sepsis from a UTI due to her prolonged use of a catheter and didn’t make it.
#14
I will never forget the video of the tsunami in Japan.
2 cars were driving away from the oncoming wave.
The car in front, was stopping at all the stop signs. The car behind waited for the car in front.
Both cars were caught, and the drivers clearly were k****d horribly by the tsunami wave. If they had just "broken the law" and sped away, they would've likely survived.
#15
A girl in my high school was running late. An old lady ran a red light and k****d her. Of she had been earlier or even later she would have been fine. (Or you know a 90 year old who had no business being behind the wheel could have just not k****d her).
#16
There was an empty seat at my sibling’s high school graduation. The student died in a crash hustling over on the way there. His best friend found out during the ceremony and broke down in front of a stadium full of people.
#17
The Donner Party was late on the travel across the US to California, tried to take a shortcut to speed back up but got delayed further instead, then attempted to cross the Sierra late in the season anyway during a huge snow year.
Spoiler alert: they died.
#18
This one is kind of different form of being late. My freshman year of high school (2004). A lot of kids would walk to school as our campus was in a very residential area. One morning, while walking to school, my friend and his sister were down the street at a busy intersection. The walk light came on and my friend crossed the street, while his sister waited a little longer because she was talking to a friend while still on the sidewalk. He made it halfway when he turned around. He said he saw a car speeding and was avoiding to hit the car in front of it. The driver ended up swerving onto the sidewalk, running over his sister, k*****g her. Her friend survived with minor injuries. I heard all of this because when they arrived at the school the police questioned them in an office. I happened to have office duty that morning. He k****d himself the following year due to survivor’s guilt.
#19
I never talk about this because it just cuts too deep, but something about being anonymous on Reddit makes me feel safe. As a teen, I was friends with a girl who was honestly one of the best people I have ever known. Her smile lit up a room, and she was truly kind to a fault. During our junior year of high school, she woke up late one morning, which messed up her usual routine and caused her to rely on public transportation to get to school. While waiting for the bus, she somehow came in contact with a vile humanbeing who lured her into an abandoned building where he [attacked] and strangled her! She was missing for approximately a week before her body was finally found. Her killer was at large for close to decade before DNA evidence in another case finally brought him to justice. He is currently serving life in prison, which, in my opinion, is too little of a penalty for someone who deprived the world of such an amazing person.
Over twenty years have passed, and I'm still racked with guilt! Would she be alive if I had called to make sure she was awake? Should I have shown up at her door to make sure she got the bus?
#20
I was with my best mate in london. We arrived on london bridge later than expected. Took some photos and chatted with people around us. Walked off the bridge as a girl was running on, she stopped to chat for a minute with us. Anyway she is dead because it was the london bridge attack in 2017. If she hadnt of stopped to chat woth is, she would have been fine.
Also, my mate and I left the bridge 1-2minutes before the attack happened. Worst moment I could have tagged myself in a location before I jumped on a plane to another location.
I’m 37. My mother won’t let me travel anymore unless she has my locations 24/7. Because for 12hours she thought I was the dead Australian girl on the bridge.
#21
Well I remember reading that both Mark Wahlberg and Seth McFarlane where both schedule to be on AA 11 ( the first that hit the trade centre) , but both missed it for various reasons, you got to feel for the person on standby that wouldn't of been on the flight in their place had they arrived on time.
#22
My uncle was k****d by a gang in his apartment parking lot. He wasn't the intended target, but he had slept though his alarm and was getting in his car when a crew came up on him. If he didn't miss his alarm, there would have been a different white car in the parking lot that would have been shot up instead. The police were able to catch the shooters only because the other guy knew who was after him and went to the police after the shooting.
#23
A neighbor, he was altw for work and was rushing. He drove out of his driveway and onto the main street where he was hit buy a rushing car.
The other driver didn't survive either, it was at a blind spot and the collision ended their lives.
If they ahd slowed down or not rush they would be alive. .
#24
The recent tragedy of the Dana in Valencia, Spain. Over 200 deaths due to the mayor/president being on a date with a news reporter in a private restaurant which led to a delay on sending the alert for the population to seek shelter in high altitude areas/buildings.
#25
My mum's partner. He was having a lot of health issues, but hated going to the doctor, so he just ignored them. He died of a massive heart attack at home one afternoon a couple months ago. He was probably gone before EMS even arrived.
My mum had to witness the whole thing. They had so many plans for this year, but now she has to figure out how to live without him. She misses him terribly, but she's also absolutely furious with him, because she /knew/ that with his symptoms, there was something major going wrong. He just wouldn't go to the doctor.
#26
In 2001, a friend of mine got on a chartered plane to Aspen for a ski trip, arranged by one of his wealthier, entitled, but more well connected friends.
Their group was late to the airport. They get on the plane, and they’re told that they have to divert to another airport because of the snowstorm and it will be too dark to land. Legally, they could not land in Aspen because it was too late
The group leader (the guy chartering the plane) was not having it. He demanded the pilots land in Aspen, so they can get to the party. He gave them that “You work for ME” attitude. The pilots were trying to land, completely violating FAA/NOTAM restrictions, and they all crashed because the pilot couldn’t see the runway.
All because they were late for the plane and for a party. The 25th anniversary was just a few days ago.
#27
My grandpa was late to his carpool for work one morning in 1986. Took a different route to catch up. wrong place wrong time. Drunk driver ran a red light at 7:45am. I never got to meet him.
#28
The Amagasaki derailment led to over a hundred dead over a one minute delay.
Japan’s railways rely on really precise timing which led the company JR West to be extremely harsh on any driver who went over the leeway of 28 seconds. The driver in the derailment had already endured “dayshift education”, which wasn’t really retraining but more like psychological t*****e with severe verbal a***e. Running late and terrified of being punished again, the driver didn’t realize just how fast he was going and when he did notice, pulled the service brake because there had to be justification for using the emergency brake.
#29
In cave diving some deaths have occurred very close to the surface due to people turning around just a little too late and then running out of air on the way back.
#30
This happened recently up in Michigan during Thanksgiving of 2023: a couple with two dogs were running late to fly home in their personally owned prop and insisted on taking-off in freezing temperatures. The pilot Randy Strebig (who was instrument rated) refused to even wait for the runway to be plowed.
The hangar was unheated and ice had accumulated on the wings. He decided to take off, went unto sharp bank, and stalled. He, his wife, and both their dogs hit the ground in an uncontrolled dive. He was in such a hurry he probably didn't even realize his wings were iced.
#31
My father was having 1 year issues with his feet. His feet was getting swolen and we thought it was something to do with his weight (he was kind of obese). As well as during a period of 5 years previously he had some problems with his prostate.
It was 2020 when his feet started to be be more and more swolen... like constantly and he didn't want to go to the hospital because our hospitals are s**t and it was Covid ( im from North Macedonia)... in December he missed an appointment at a doctor since it was a national holiday and he had some pain in the stomach like a flu thingy... the pain in his stomach started on Wednesday and we got him into a private hospital on Monday... the doctors examined him and told us it's tangled intestines (i google translated this i hope its correct)... nothing serious but the surgery had to be done tomorrow morning. At 3 AM he called my brother and asked for food... he went into a bakery, bought something for him but the doctors didn't allow food since he had to go through a surgery in the morning... at 5AM the situation went worse and at 8AM we got a call that the doctor started operating him... when the opened his stomach all they found was rotten intestine. He actually had Gangrene... developed from years of heavy alcohol drinking and smoking cigarettes, and as science still haven't found any cure for it he passed away at 11 AM Tuesday. The doctor told us if he came a bit earlier he might have said him but i doubt it... i was actually avoiding the bakery my brother bought food from for 2 whole years. I've overcome the feeling of grief but sometimes i just sit and think what would have my life been if he was alive.
He was a good father but he drank a lot of alcohol and smoked a lot of cigarettes which at the end was his end unfortunately. I haven't drank alcohol for a lot of months and in these 6 years I've been avoiding it completely maybe i would grab a drink in a couple of months as it's poison.
I hope someone will read this... stay away from toxicity in your life.
#32
My parents had a neighbor who had always been a little off, but harmless.
She died from complications related to an untreated UTI that she ignored until her husband found her on the floor.
#33
I just learned about Antoni Gaudi, the famous architect in Barcelona back in 1920's. He was leaving his shop, rushing to a church to make it in time for prayer. He ran across a street, almost running in front of an oncoming tram, luckily he took a step backwards to dodge it but was then run over by the tram going the opposite direction.
#34
Not sure if just late or blatant neglect, but:
My grandpa was convinced that drawing blood was sufficient enough to detect everything. He absolutely refused to get a prostate screening. At some point, he was in a lot of pain and still said it's fine.
Turns out, his prostate cancer was finally detected in late January and he was dead in September.
Get your screenings done, people.
#35
A man's neighbors died in a California fire because they were putting on make up before evacuating.
#36
The 304 victims of the Sewol ferry that died because the adults and people in power were late in making decisions/responding. The message for passengers to evacuate came late so passengers were trapped in the ship. The approval for emergency response came late so the rescue operations came late. I cannot look at pictures of the rows of neatly arranged wreaths representing each high school student that died (around 250) without feeling the need to bawl. What's worse is that the captain and most of the crew were able to escape, only three crew members tried to help the passengers and died.
#37
I didn’t die but I was late to work one day because I slept in and ended up getting rear ended on my commute in a multi car pile up. Totaled my car and caused a nightmare that lasted two years. I frequently thought about if only I’d left on time.
#38
Recently, a few years ago, a childhood buddy of mine was in Portugal at a youth travel guide convention. He had just turned 30 two weeks prior, so after the convention he went out to celebrate with some travel buddies.
During his last night in Portugal, and before his flight home early that morning, he must’ve got carried away with time when he realized it was much later than he thought so he stopped, hugged his friends, expressed to them how incredibly lucky he felt being there with them and how much he loved them, and began stumbling on back toward his Airbnb.
Buddy booted up Google Maps, hit the “walk” route, and went on his merry way. It’s a short walk from the bar district to where his airbnb was, especially when taking the tracks, so he had plenty of time to get back and catch his flight back home to make it to his sisters birthday dinner.
A fun fact about Portugal is, unlike Canada, the tram system runs *with* traffic, not against it.
Unfortunately, Google Maps doesn’t know that, and neither did my friend. He was hit and k****d from behind by the very first tram scheduled that morning. Didn’t even see it coming.
When you’re a kid, you never truly know how impactful the memories of certain friends are going to be, until you’re at their funeral.
#39
My neighbor was going to visit her parents in Korea. They were taking care of the tickets for her, but she didn't realize she needed a VISA so she missed the original flight. A few days later she was on the airplane that the Soviet Union shot down.
#40
Many people in the South Tower of the World Trade Center evacuated from the building, shortly after the North Tower was hit. Many were told that it only impacted the North Tower, and that they would be fine. Many returned back to work after evacuating, some were wishy washy on evacuating, and some evacuated anyway. The famous survivor Stanley Praimnath had already evacuated, but was goaded to return back to his office, along with several people he worked with. He went back up. He was on the 81st floor, right where the South tower was hit. He actually watched the plane come in too. He was rescued, but I believe he was one of the only, if not the only person from his floor who survived. Who knows how many people would have survived if they had not returned to their offices.
#42
Friend of mine did a charity performance and stayed 15 minutes afterwards to chat with people who attended. She was then struck and k****d in a hit and run car accident by a man driving on a suspended license for DUI, leaving a club (so probably drunk), driving his mom’s car (because his identical car had a breathalyzer built in). They caught him because he tried to hire a body shop to repair the damage without notifying the police, and the body shop thankfully DID notify the police.
If my friend had left one minute earlier or later, she would still be alive today.
The man is only facing a maximum of 7 years in prison because it’s somehow not as bad to k**l someone with a car you’re not legally allowed to drive, flee the scene, and try to destroy the evidence as it is to k**l someone in literally any other way.
#43
Antonio "cyx" Daniloski was a Professional Counter Strike Player for Team mousesports in 2010 and basically one of the best if not the best German player. He was on his way to a tournament and missed his flight at Frankfurt airport. On his way back home from the airport his tire got punctured and he died in the car accident.
#44
There was Yingying Zhang, a visiting Chinese scholar at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who missed her bus and was late for a meeting to lease an apartment. She was given a ride by a former grad student and subsequently held against her will, r***d, and m******d.
#45
The Wreck of the White Ship is arguably one of the biggest turning points in Medieval history.
Hit a submerged rock in the darkness as they departed late at night and attempted to catch up with the king's ship.
#46
My brother died on the way to catch a ferry. They were running late, took a corner too fast and car flipped over an embankment..
#47
My mum woke up late and missed a flight for work. Decided to make the 4 hour drive instead. She never arrived.
#48
My brother went to the hospital in Newburgh New York in 2018 after he developed sepsis. He pulled through and fought the infection. However, the hospital did not have lipitor which was part of his regular medication routine. Can you believe that? So the doctor prescribed him another cholesterol medication. He had such a bad reaction to the replacement medication that he kept fouling the bed. The nurse attendant was brutal because the witch was annoyed with how often she had to clean my brother. So after a bathroom accident she literally ripped him another one while moving My brother around for the physical cleanup. My brother had a tear in his body from the top of his rear end about the length of his thumb.
He was discharged with the injury that was amazingly painful. A month later it still didn't heal. It was an open wound that couldn't be kept clean easily My brother got an infection again which k****d him. He was late to go for treatment of the open wound because he didn't want to sit in his car for the drive.
#49
There was a really sweet kid I went to day camp with at the local parks and rec. As an adult, he found work filming amateur rap music videos for people in town. One night, the filming ran late and unbeknownst to him, one of the guys there was the target of a hit by a local gang. Two guys from a rival gang stormed in and shot up the place. They missed their target but k****d my friend. R.I.P.
#50
Saw a video of this guy in a wheelchair who missed the elevator, so he angrily slammed his chair in the closed door several times, which soon gave way and the guy fell in the shaft and died.
Or, if not died, he at least injured himself so bad that he never walked again... oh, wait.
#51
Back in 1963 Montreal, my uncle died in a plane crash shortly after taking off. Back then they didnhave passenger manifests like they do now. Some people were late and some were early to the airport. Families were notified according to the original booking. Some people missed the flight, and some showed up early. It was a s******w.
#52
A family friend was slowly shutting down his business due to accelerating health issues. He was also preparing to divorce his a*****e partner. He stayed too late at the office on a Friday and was driving too aggressively trying to get home quicker. Ended up in a car accident that left him brain dead, a few days later they pulled the plug.
Bonus, he was going to file the divorce papers the following Monday, so since he didn't make it to that, the settling of his estate became a four year legal battle between his wife and his family.
#53
My Nana last year had one of her legs swell bigger than the other in June. Went to the doctor and they found a blood clot. They thought it was because she was recently on a plane ride and with her age, sitting for a period of time could have caused it. It wasn’t until the end of July that the actual cause of her blood clot was a tumour encircling her lungs throwing them through her body as she started coughing up blood. By the time it was discovered she had lesions on her liver that was causing bleeding, so she was in DIC. She was thankfully kept comfortable for 8 days and then passed. RIP Nana, you are missed.
#54
Girl friend of mine drove about 90mins into the city to watch a fireworks display. They were supposed to be back by midnight, but traffic was backed up with thousands of people trying to leave at the same time. They decide to get some food and wait it out, which put them on the road at the same time the local bars were closing. Their car was t-boned by a drunk driver about 5mins from her house. After a few days on life support, she sadly passed.
#55
Someone missed an earlier safe option, took the later one, and that’s the one that went wrong. Like people who missed an earlier flight and ended up on a doomed one, or showed up late to an evacuation and got caught in the disaster. Timing cuts both ways.
#56
The Piper Alpha disaster might have a couple instances. It was one of the defining events that made oil and gas very safety conscious. Back then the Offshore Installation Managers didn't have the degree of autonomy they have now.
The platform suffered an explosion on board but was originally an oil only platform so wasn't prepared for gas explosions. The explosion effectively destroyed their fire fighting capability but no order to evacuate was ever given. Some individuals decided to leave on their own but far too many were waiting in the accommodation block which were later found when they took it up from the sea.
As a bonus the platform was also a relay for gas on the Tartan and Claymore fields, even after they knew there was an explosion on board they were still exporting gas as they were waiting for permission to shut down from the beach. In effect they were piping fresh gas into a fire. The tartan gas riser ruptured quite dramatically. Now sure given the distances involved the line would still have been under pressure for like 10 hours but yeah it's not great, they did end up shutting down. Shutdown and blow down of those lines didn't start until the claymore riser ruptured like 2 hours after the start of the incident. Think tartan was shut down 10 minutes after the riser but not sure when slowdown started.
#57
Surprised I haven't read the Uberlingen mid air collision, a lot of kids missed their first flight and tragedy struck.
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