1 . It was the day before Thanksgiving and Kaleb Benham was wandering around outside his home in Noring California. His 90-pound pit bull, Buddy, was playing around nearby, doing what dogs do: getting into trouble. And this time, Buddy was getting into a whole lot of trouble.

The unmistakable sound that no one wants to hear alone in the woods caught Benham’s attention. It was the deep, strange roar of a black bear. Benham wheeled around to see the beast, which Benham figured weighed around 350 pounds, some 100 feet away. In an instant, the bear fastened on to Buddy’s head and started dragging him away.

Benham, a thin, fit 24-year-old, took off after them. “Honestly,” he told CBS13, “the only thing I could think of was ‘save my baby’.” Sprinting, he lowered his shoulder and plowed into the bear. But it only tightened its grip on Buddy. Benham grabbed the bear by the throat. Nothing. He tried getting its mouth open, but the jaw was locked tight. Benham resorted to street fighting—punching the bear over and over around its snout and eye. It worked. The bear dropped the dog and ran off into the woods.

Buddy was in bad shape. His face was bloodied and ripped up. His ears were dangling. He had a bite mark clear through his lip and one that barely missed an eye.

“My first thought was that I was going to lose him,” Benham said. He scooped up Buddy, put him into his car, and sped off to a nearby veterinarian. Buddy’s surgery took nearly four hours. Benham watched the procedure through a window. “I just stood there,” he said, watching as Buddy’s ears were stapled back on and skin flaps were stitched, and tubes were inserted into his head to drain fluid.

This was the second time Benham had rescued Buddy, says CBS13. The first was from a shelter a few years ago. “If it was your kid, what would you do?” he asked. Nodding toward Buddy, he added, “That’s my kid.”

3 . It was a long weekend in May 2018 and my partner Gabe Rosescu, and I were taking a road trip to go to Nelson, British Columbia and spend some time with our friends. We are both adventurous, and we couldn’t wait to go hiking and exploring. It was our first trip together.

At around 5:30 p. m. on Thursday, May 17, we were driving about 9 miles west of Creston, on a steep mountain road known as the Crowsnest Highway. I was texting updates to my family and enjoying the view. We weren’t aware that there’d recently been flooding in the area. When I looked up from my phone, I saw a wave of mud and a huge tree coming down the mountain, right in front of Gabe’s car. He tried to stop, but it was too late. The mudslide sent our car falling nearly 300 meters down a rocky cliff (悬崖) and our car landed on its side among some trees.

I didn’t know how long we were unconscious. But the body was amazing, and somehow we were both able to crawl (爬) out of the crashed car. We couldn’t get a signal on our cell phones, so all we could think to do was shout for help. After just a few minutes, we heard someone call back. Four passers-by spotted us and came to our rescue. When the emergency medical technicians finally got to our side, they loaded us into separate ambulances. I was in the hospital for a week and a half, but they kept Gabe for six weeks. I was told I would walk with a limp (跛行) for the rest of my life; Gabe permanently lost the vision in his left eye.

Before this all happened, we were happy-go-lucky people. We’re even more sanguine now. We look at everything differently. Despite the injuries we suffered, we’re grateful that we’re still living a pretty good life. The experience also bonded us more. We still go on road trips.

7 . It was about 10:15 p.m. Janice Esposito got off the train at the Bellport, New York, got into her car and began driving home. She had traveled the route so many times that she almost drove automatically: a left onto Station Road, then a left on Montauk Highway, and then—bang! Out of nowhere a car crashed into Esposito’s car, pushing her backward some 100 feet onto the railroad tracks. Injured but mostly shocked by the crash and by the airbags that popped up, she got stuck in the vehicle.

As it happened, Pete DiPinto was getting ready for bed when he heard the crash coming from not far outside his bedroom window.

A volunteer firefighter and retired teacher, DiPinto, 64, never stopped to think. He grabbed a flashlight and rushed out. “Any firefighter would have done what I did,” he said. “We’re always on duty. ”

The first car he came upon, 2,000 feet from his front yard, was the one that had hit Esposito. Once making sure the driver was OK, he looked around and spotted Esposito's car straddling (骑跨) the railroad tracks. And then he heard a bell sound, which signaled a coming train.

DiPinto rushed to Esposito’s car and hit on the driver’s side window. She just looked at him, “I don’t know where I am,” she said.

“You’re on the railroad tracks,” DiPinto yelled. “We have to get you off right now!” The train was traveling at a speed of 65 miles per hour toward them. The driver’s door couldn’t be opened due to the crash, so DiPinto ran to the passenger side. He threw open the door, pushed aside the airbags, seized Esposito’s arms, and pulled her toward him across the passenger seat until he finally got her out and walked her to safety as quickly as he could.

Within seconds, the train crashed into the car. “It was like a Hollywood movie, ” DiPinto told reporters the next day.

“Last night, ” said Greg Miglino Chief of the South Country Ambulance, “the hero arrived in pajamas, not in a fire truck. ”

Charity Cycling UK recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of dooring after discovering that many people don’t know what it is. Dooring is when a driver or passenger opens the door into another road user—typically cyclist—without looking for other road users.

Cycling UK chief executive Paul Tuohy told Gloucestershire Live: “Some people seem to see car dooring as a bit of a joke, but it’s not and can have serious consequences. Cycling UK wants to see great awareness made about the dangers of opening your car door carelessly, and people to be encouraged to look before they open.”

The charity says 2,009 of the 3,000 injuries were sustained by cyclists, resulting in five fatalities but says this might not be the full extent of the danger.

Cycling UK says not all car dooring incidents will be attended by police, so the charity has written to transport minister Jesse Norman calling for a public awareness campaign urging all car occupants, not just drivers, to look before opening vehicle doors. One of the ways the charity suggests is the “Dutch reach”, where people leaving a vehicle reach over and use the non-door side hand to open the door.

Cycling UK also suggests harsher laws and advice on safer road positioning for people who cycle.

Mr. Tuohy said: “In the Netherlands they are known for practicing a method, known sometimes as the ‘Dutch reach’, which we think could be successfully encouraged in the UK.”

“Cycling UK has written to the Department for Transport asking them to look into this, and highlight the dangers of ‘car dooring’ through a public awareness THINK style campaign.”

If you’re really concerned about opening a door into the path of a cyclist coming behind you, consider using what’s known as the “Dutch reach” to open the door. That will naturally turn you in your seat and give you a much better view of what’s coming up alongside in the car.