I was probably closest to death a month or so before christmas in 2005. I managed to drive my car off the motorway at ~70 mph, the car turned and went into a sign by the side of the road. The impact with the sign caused my car to start rolling and it rolled 4 or 5 times, across a side road, until it came to rest upside-down after impacting with another road sign.
I walked away with a nasty cut on my finger and a ringing head, but that was the worst of it, the car was of course a write off.
I don't know if I was actually close to death, the car protected me very well, certainly if any other vehicle had been involved this could have been much more serious.
TTFN,
WK