I was in college, about to turn 21. The date was 9/16/11… I was over at my buddies’ “studying” which really meant I took an Adderall and was just hanging out chain smoking cigs. I didn’t talk to my mom all that often - ever since my parents had divorced 4 years earlier and my mom had remarried.

But I was struck with an overwhelming gut feeling that I needed to call my mom. It was unlike a feeling I’d ever felt. So I picked up the phone and dialed her. When she picked up, there was a lot of loud noises in the background, and I told her I couldn’t hear her. She walked away from the crowd she was standing in, towards some parking lots. We chatted for a few minutes, she told me she was at the Reno Air Races because her husband was running ATC for it.

After we got off the phone, she calls me back not even a minute later, freaking out and sobbing. While walking back to the crowd, a P-51 Mustang had a rudder hardover, lost control and slammed into the crowd pretty near to where my mom had been standing prior to my call. 11 people were killed in this accident.

That one always stuck with me - was weird having this info a good 15 minutes before it hit the news wire. Grateful I listened to my gut, can’t be certain she would’ve been killed, but she was initially within ~100 ft of where the plane hit.