Dax Shepard Almost Died in Near-Fatal Car Crash, Felt ‘At Peace’

Dax Shepard is looking back on a near-death experience that he narrowly escaped.

“I don’t know what the definition is, but I have had the moment, which is one of the most unique feelings I’ve ever had in my life, where I went, ‘Oh, I’m about to die,’” Shepard, 51, told guest Kaley Cuoco during the Monday, February 9, episode of his “Armchair Expert” podcast.

Shepard set the terrifying scene, explaining he was lying in the backseat of a Ford Probe that his friend was driving.

“We were coming back from Toledo back up to Detroit,” he remembered. “It was, like, late at night, and I had to work super early in the morning, so I go, ‘Hey, I’m going to sleep in the back. Are you good to drive?’ ‘Yeah, I’m totally fine.’”

The Ranch actor continued, “He had the cruise control on 85, and I’m, like, back there, I’m listening, and the road was really rhythmic. Just at that moment, I was like, ‘Oh, that rhythm is nice. I’m going to fall asleep,’ and then I just heard gravel hitting the side of the car, and I immediately looked up, and he was completely slumped over, and we had gone off the road, and we’re going 85, and the car started to go sideways.”

Shepard explained that because pine trees line the interstate in Michigan, he was convinced the vehicle would hit a tree.

“I started to go to grab the wheel, and there’s a moment I just knew it was too far gone, like we had gone completely sideways,” he shared. “I laid back down, and then we just launched in the air, and we started rolling right down the highway.”

Even though the experience was scary, Shepard said there was a moment he felt at peace with the fact that he could have died.

“I’m like, ‘We’re going to hit a tree, and that’s going to be that,’ and I definitely had this moment where I was like, ‘Wow, I’m going to die in a second,’ and the feeling was shockingly comforting that I remember I went from complete fear, ‘S*** the car’s out of control. Oh, my God, we’re gonna roll. F***, we’re rolling. Alright, we’re going to roll into a tree. I’m gonna die,’ like, all that calculus. And then I just went like, [sighs], but I got very calm.”

Shepard continued, “Whatever thing they give you, the DMT or whatever the weird chemical is, did definitely start getting released, I think, where I was kind of weirdly at total peace with it. And then we just rolled, like, 10 times, ended up upside down. We did not hit a tree. The car was flat-out. We rolled out the windows, the whole nine yards.” (DMT is a strong psychedelic drug that can affect all the senses, altering a person’s thoughts, sense of time and emotions, per the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.)

After his harrowing account of the accident, Shepard assured listeners that the driver of the vehicle “was OK.” Cuoco, 40, told Shepard the story was “terrifying” and “really interesting.”

“A lot of the stories that I hear, people have a sense of calm, even if something bad is happening,” the Big Bang Theory actress said.

Shepard went on to say that for about three days after the accident, he felt “very peculiar” and was questioning, “Am I dead? I know I died.” For him, those thoughts were “the weirdest part of the whole thing.”

When asked whether the accident was a long time ago, Shepard revealed it occurred when he was in 12th grade.

“This may shock you, but I’ve never been able to fall asleep in a car ever since, so I can never let the other person take a turn driving. There’s no way I could sleep with someone else driving,” Shepard concluded, to which Cuoco replied, “That makes sense. That’s major PTSD.”