In a heart-stopping moment, Nicole Kerr’s life was laid bare before her as her Corvette spun wildly out of control.

The sleek vehicle collided with a massive boulder, sending Kerr airborne before she crashed to the ground with force.

When first responders arrived at the scene, they found her body twisted and battered, akin to crumpled paper.

Back then, Kerr was a 19-year-old cadet in the Air Force. She recalls an out-of-body experience, observing from above as rescuers pronounced her dead for 13 minutes.

Reflecting on that day, the now 62-year-old Colorado native remembers, “I saw them cover my body with a blanket, feeling a strange but natural detachment.”

“I was enveloped by streams of radiant white light from every direction. It embraced me entirely, filling me with bliss. Instead of pain, there was only peace,” she shared.

In the 13 minutes she was declared dead, Kerr said she went to what she believes was Heaven, where she claimed to have met an angel who turned out to be her late grandfather.

‘He showed me that the life I was living wasn’t really mine,’ she said.  

Nicole Kerr was just 19 years old when she suffered a near-death experience after a horrific car crash

Kerr is one of the ten percent of Americans who claim to have had a near-death experience (NDE) – a transformative event that occurs during a severe medical crisis. 

Some claim to feel themselves being propelled down a black hole, blinded by a bright light or wandering a Matrix-like grid. 

Many have said they were met by a being they think is an angel and taken to Heaven for a visit. When they wake, the medical emergencies that nearly killed them can leave these patients with emotional whiplash.

Not all NDEs are pleasant. A recent study out of the University of Virginia found that between ten and 22 percent of these experiences are distressing. 

At the time of Kerr’s accident, she had just joined the Air Force at her father’s wishes. It was on the way back to base with a senior cadet that the trip took a harrowing turn.

On the ‘other side,’ she said she quickly realized the accident wouldn’t have happened if she had listened to her heart and not the wishes of others.

‘I had only joined the Academy to please my father,’ she said. 

‘I was living in a constant state of low-grade fear, trying to fit into a military mold that didn’t align with my soul. I’d been living for someone else’s approval and suppressing my own spirit to survive.

‘I felt the weight of all that fear just melt away in the light. There was only total acceptance.’

Pictured above is the Corvette Kerr was in during the crash. She was catapulted out of the car and landed on the pavement

Kerr suffered multiple setbacks in her recovery, including sepsis and gangrene. She said she went through a total of three near-death experiences

Kerr claimed that only moments after arriving in Heaven, the angel told her it was time to return to Earth.

‘The thought of returning to a broken body was unbearable,’ Kerr said. ‘I actually argued with him. I shouted that I didn’t want to go and that I wanted to stay in that bliss forever. But I had no choice.’

In the physical world, a bystander, who was an emergency medical technician, saw the medics pull the sheet over Kerr and declare her dead. The person then stepped in to give her a sternal knuckle press, which involves grinding the knuckles of a closed fist up and down the sternum.

The goal of the procedure is to induce enough pain to snap a patient out of unconsciousness. 

The knuckle press worked, and Kerr’s right pupil flinched. Paramedics then performed CPR, and upon arriving at the hospital, she was rushed to surgery for her extensive injuries.  

The catastrophic nature of the crash was quickly made clear, with injuries including multiple fractures, a shattered pelvis, crushed wrist and significant trauma to her head and chest. Her foot was nearly amputated due to nerve damage.

Doctors were able to stabilize her ‘mangled’ body, but two weeks later, she developed sepsis – the body’s overreaction to an infection that causes the immune system to mistakenly attack vital organs and tissues. 

Kerr also suffered gangrene – tissue death caused by an infection or lack of blood flow – which can result in amputations. 

Now 62, Kerr is dedicated to sharing her near-death experiences and what she has learned about death

‘My parents were told I wasn’t expected to live long,’ Kerr said. ‘I was rushed into surgery where my heart stopped – again.

‘After going to the brilliant white light, another angel greeted me and told me my work on Earth was not yet done. There was a mission waiting for me.’

Doctors were about to call the time of her death just as her heart began to beat again. She said she pulled through for another three months until fluid filled her lungs.

Kerr nearly suffocated and had her third near-death experience. Once again, she claimed to have received a message that her mission on Earth was not yet complete. 

After being ‘zapped’ back into her body for a final time, she made it her goal to teach people about and what death actually is.

‘For years, I hesitated to share my experience out of the fear of being misunderstood or labelled “crazy,”‘ Kerr said. ‘But then I found other experiencers like me and realized those 13 minutes of death were actually the start of my new life.

‘Death is not the end. We’re all deathless beings having a temporary physical experience.

‘I’m grateful to be able to talk about my experience and give strength to others. I came back to tell people they are loved beyond measure and help them look at God and Heaven in a way that is not filled with fear.

‘My mission is to tell people not to be afraid of death so you can fully live this life now before you move into your next one.’