Woman Dodges Death in Axe Throwing Accident

One Arizona woman had to rely on her quick reflexes to dodge death. 

At an axe throwing venue, Ainsley Rae had a close encounter with the blade after it bounced off the wall and almost struck her head. 

The woman could have been killed, and she told Inside Edition she thanks her athletic ability for dodging the flying axe. 

"At first I didn’t know what actually happened but then over time, watching it over and over again, I just started laughing at myself. Oh my gosh, I am so glad I didn’t get hit in the head," Rae told Inside Edition. 

The video was posted on Instagram by her boyfriend, and it has gone viral. She shared the video herself saying, “That axe almost got me.” 

She also said, though, that it's hard to watch. 

Inside Edition showed the video to Mathew Sylvester, who runs an axe throwing venue in Brooklyn, Bury the Hatchet.

Hundreds of similar places, where you can drink and throw axes, have sprung up all over the country.

"This is so terrible," Sylvester said. "There is a little too much power in a little later in her release, otherwise she would have done fine." 

Bury the Hatchet has an “impact board,” which helps stop the axe from popping back up. The bar Rae went to didn’t have one of those boards, Sylvester said. 

Rae said she threw the axe too hard and it struck the bottom of the wall, causing it to bounce back. She said she and her boyfriend were not drinking during the incident. 

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