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The Terrifying Moment That Taught Dwayne Johnson How Precious Life Is

Season 5 Episode 504
Aired on 11/15/2015 | CC tv-14
For years, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson says he and his parents lived paycheck to paycheck, moving to a different city every time his dad, a professional wrestler in the '80s, got a new gig. When Dwayne was 15, he and his mother followed his father to Nashville, Tennessee, from California. Soon after she arrived, Dwayne says his parents got into a fight that he'll never forget.

"I knew that my parents were going through some really tough times in terms of their marriage," he says. "We were at a restaurant, the three of us, and they got into it. They got into a very big fight. Not physical but just really loud arguing."

When they left the restaurant, Dwayne's parents got into his father's car, and Dwayne followed behind in the family car. "I'm watching them drive in front of me, and their car starts swerving," he says. "I can clearly see that they are arguing. My old man makes a hard right all the way across, and he gets on the shoulder."

At that moment, Dwayne says his mom got out of the car and started walking into oncoming traffic. "She had a glazed look over her eyes that I had never seen before," he recalls. "My heart stopped. Horns were blowing and cars were swerving out of the way."

Dwayne says he grabbed his mother and wrestled her to the side of the interstate. "In that moment, one of the greatest lessons I've ever learned was how precious life is, and how in an instant, it can all go away," he says. "[It] changed me. The irony is my mom has no idea that it even happened."

In the above video, Dwayne shares more about this traumatic event.

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