BMX Stunt Inches Away From Impaling Disaster

A BMX stuntman named Anthony Napolitan posted a video yesterday of an insane near-miss he had while attempting a trick, and the internet is going crazy for it.

The video shows the mishap — or miracle, depending on how you look at it — from two angles. Napolitan picks up momentum headed up a concrete ramp, apparently attempting to flip over a tall metal fence with his bike.

He comes up extremely short and lands directly on top of the fence, which has metal posts sticking up from the top, but instead of impaling himself, Napolitan somehow landed with his thighs perfectly in the gap between the posts, avoiding serious injury by milimeters.

The video was picked up by SportsCenter on Twitter, and from there it quickly went viral. People reacted with shock and horror, but they also marvelled at Napolitan’s luck.

Many commenters didn’t realize that Napolitan is an X-Games medal-winning professional BMX rider, and he attempted the trick for a promotion he and his team were working on.

“I really don’t know how to describe this except for the fact that I’m really lucky,” Napolitan wrote on Instagram. He promised fans that a more in-depth video with better context is on the way.