Man killed by detached fire hydrant in 'million-to-one' freak accident

A man's life was tragically cut short in a freak 'million-to-one' accident as he was on his way to surprise his wife with flowers for a romantic dinner.

In a cruel twist of fate, a blown tyre from a passing vehicleled to a series of events that ended in the death of Humberto Hernandez, a tragedy so unusual that even seasoned Californian police officers had never seen anything like it before.

Humberto was struck by a flying fire hydrant that had been sent hurtling through the air after being hit by an out-of-control car on an East Bay street.

Motorcycle Officer Eddie Bermudez, who investigated the incident, told the East Bay Times that the tragedy was compounded by the fact that if Humberto had been just a foot to the left or right of where he was standing, "he would not have gotten hit". He described the 24-year-old's death as "a million-to-one chance".

On that fateful day in June 2007, Humberto and his wife were walking down the street, bouquet and cherries in hand, on their way to a dinner reservation at a restaurant.

At the same time, a Ford Escape driven by a 45-year-old woman from Danville suffered a blown tyre and veered onto the pavement, reports the Mirror.

The SUV crashed into a fire hydrant, sending it soaring into the air and towards Humberto, skimming the pavement before striking him in the back of the head.

"He was walking a bit ahead of his wife and then, all of a sudden, he is in the line of fire," Bermudez said.

Despite its weight, the hydrant still had enough momentum to pierce through a fence after hitting Humberto. "You can't even pick those things up."

One Sheriff stated that the water pressure was so intense that the 500-pound fire hydrant would have moved like a bullet. "I've seen people hit fire hydrants but never anyone killed by a flying fire hydrant," one officer remarked. Humberto was declared dead at the scene.

His wife was unharmed and the couple had only recently arrived in the United States, residing in a trailer. The investigator was informed that his wife had "no relatives here, no money, no nothing. It was just her and her husband."