Laura Clery says she nearly died earlier this week after a 600-pound refrigerator slammed into her and pinned her against a counter while she was home alone getting ready for bed. In an Instagram post on Thursday, the 39-year-old called it the most terrifying night of her life as a single mom.
Clery said she could not move or breathe as she fought to get free, and that she genuinely did not know whether she would make it out alive. She was able to call 911 from her phone in her pocket before first responders got to the house and pulled the refrigerator off her.
The rescue was not quick. Clery said it took three firefighters to lift the appliance off her, and that she was still shaking afterward. She also shared video of herself being rushed into an ambulance, where she asked whether she had broken anything. A firefighter told her they were taking her to a trauma center, and Clery could be heard moaning in pain and saying, “F – – k, it hurts.”
She later expanded on the ordeal in a Patreon post that included photos from the ambulance and hospital. Clery said the pain was so intense it almost did not feel real, and that her daughter’s crying made her panic even more. She said her son Alfie ran outside, probably scared out of his mind, as the emergency unfolded.
Clery is a comedian and YouTuber who shares Alfie, 7, and Poppy, 5, with her ex-husband Stephen Hilton. She said her children were home during the crisis, adding another layer of fear to an accident that could have ended far differently. She is now back home recovering, and joked that while pinned under the fridge she thought, “This is the dumbest way anyone has ever died.”
The episode is a stark reminder of how fast a routine night can turn dangerous, even for someone who was only getting ready for bed. For Clery, the immediate question is no longer what happened, but how to heal from it after a rescue she says she will not forget.
