Ariel Berkowitz Was Run Over by a Train and Pronounced Clinically Dead

One moment, Ariel Berkowitz was stumbling through the streets of downtown Dallas—disoriented, lost, and unaware that his life was about to end. The next, he was lying lifeless on train tracks, his body crushed beneath the weight of a speeding DART train. Pronounced clinically dead, Ariel’s story should have ended there. But what happened next would defy science, awaken his soul, and transform his understanding of life, death, and divine purpose.

Ariel Berkowitz grew up in Dallas, Texas. His family was observant and he attended an Orthodox Jewish School. After the fourth grade, his parents shifted paths and sent him to public school. “All of a sudden, we were in the Taco Bell drive-thru, eating non-kosher food, and we stopped keeping Shabbat.”

It was confusing but Ariel went along with it. He started playing football and with his talent on the field, his popularity skyrocketed.

But by 9th grade, he was influenced by underage drinking and drugs. Shabbat was a distant memory, and so was God. “I hadn’t thought about anything Jewish in ages.”

Ariel started partying more, trying to fit in, and his grades slipped. He also stopped playing football.

Losing His Way

After high school, Ariel had no plan. He decided to move to Austin, Texas, where many of his friends lived. It was a lively, party-oriented city and he figured he could take a few classes while enjoying the scene. To cover his expenses, he took a job as a valet, but things didn’t go as planned. Before long, he stopped taking classes altogether and found himself spending money and wasting time. When his funds finally ran out, he had no choice but to move back to Dallas—with no job, no plan, and no source of income.

The Night of the Accident

Ariel was invited to a concert by a childhood friend. He didn’t want to go but felt indebted to his friend for helping him move.

“I’m not really a concert guy, and I was worried about losing my phone, as I’d heard many people do,” he recalled.

Before heading to the concert, he and his friends decided to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana. By the time they arrived, the night was already a blur. Ariel vaguely remembers a foggy haze with people jumping up and down like zombies. Then, his worst fear came true—he lost his phone. Agitated and frustrated, he decided to leave the venue.

“I just started walking and stumbled into downtown Dallas. I couldn’t find a ride, so I decided to just start walking home. Unfortunately, in the state of mind I was in, I didn’t realize how far home really was. I ended up coming across the light rail system that runs through Dallas. While walking across the tracks, I fell, hit my head on the hard concrete, and lost consciousness. My body was lying directly over the tracks.

“The DART train approached. Although the conductor tried to stop, it was too late—the train ran me over, dragging my body 90 feet and amputating my legs.”

Fortuitously, Baylor University Hospital was right across the street. First responders transported him there immediately.

Clinically Dead

In the hospital, Ariel was pronounced clinically dead—no heartbeat, no breathing, no brain activity.

The last thing he remembered was stumbling through downtown. The next moment, he found himself in a hospital room, drifting above his own body.

“I was drifting above myself—formless, just existing. Everything I ever loved or hated came together in one ball of energy. I was stuck above my body, connected by what felt like a spiritual umbilical cord.”

Many people describe near-death experiences as peaceful and filled with love—but Ariel’s was different. “I felt a deep sense of disappointment, like I had accomplished nothing in my life. I was also aware of everything happening in the hospital room.”

He watched as someone gently cleaned the blood from his hands. His friend who had taken him to the concert walked in, saw his body, and quietly wept. His parents and siblings couldn’t bring themselves to enter, too distraught over whether he would survive—or if he did, whether he would ever recover.

Only his grandmother was brave enough to step inside. She sat by his bed, opened a small book, and began to pray. Ariel somehow knew she had opened a book of Psalms. “Though I had known nothing about King David or his Psalms, I somehow knew what she was doing.”

Years later, Ariel would learn in his Jewish studies that when a soul leaves the body, it perceives truths it cannot grasp while confined within it.

“She closed the book and placed it under my pillow—and at that exact moment, I clicked back into my body.

“I know ‘click’ is a strange term to use, but let me explain,” he said. “It was like turning on a light switch. You feel a bit of resistance, and then suddenly—click—the light turns on. That’s what it felt like when my body and soul reconnected. It was a perfect fit, like slipping into a tailor-made garment.”

When Ariel woke up, a tube was down his throat. He felt a strange sensation in his lower body and knew something was wrong. Unable to speak, he motioned to write a single question: “Do I still have the ability to have kids?” Despite everything, his first concern was for his legacy and continuity.

Recovery and Awakening

When Ariel regained consciousness, his family gently broke the news—he had been in a terrible accident and both of his legs were gone. Though most people would have been devastated, Ariel felt overwhelming gratitude just to be alive. Few survive being run over by a train, yet his brain, hands, and back were miraculously intact. Surrounded by his family’s love, he resolved to stay strong for them.

Ariel understood that when the body fails, something far greater endures. There is more to existence than the physical world. This realization gave him a new perspective on life and relationships—and he refused to allow sadness over his limbs to define him.

Amazingly, Ariel was released from the hospital after only a week—an almost unheard-of recovery given his injuries. One leg had been amputated above the knee, the other below.

Determined to rebuild his life, Ariel received his first pair of prosthetic legs in May 2017. They were heavy and awkward but he began physical therapy and learned to walk again. He returned to school, earned enough credits to transfer to a university, and majored in biology. With a specially equipped car featuring hand controls, he regained his independence—and by the fall of 2019, Ariel was driving to class completely on his own.

Finding Purpose

In 2019, the father of Ariel’s concert friend passed away. To honor his memory, Ariel’s friend began attending synagogue three times a day and soon developed a deep interest in Judaism. He started keeping Shabbat and invited Ariel to join him. Ariel went simply to be supportive—but before long, he found himself genuinely drawn in.

The two began studying Me’am Loez, a classic Torah commentary translated by Aryeh Kaplan. Though the material was complex and far beyond his initial understanding, Ariel immediately recognized its truth and depth.

He started learning Torah weekly and gradually began keeping Shabbat himself—testing it by refraining from touching his phone for an entire day. “By the end of that day, I felt so uplifted that I didn’t even want my phone,” he recalls.

Week by week, Ariel’s commitment deepened. He began praying daily, studying regularly, putting on tefillin, and attending synagogue. “For the first time, I could say, ‘This is who I am.’”

He acknowledges that his growth is ongoing. “I’m not perfect,” he says, “but it’s about progress, not perfection.”

Finding Love and Purpose

Ariel knew he wanted to get married and dreamed of finding a woman with strong Jewish values. When he turned to matchmakers, many suggested women with disabilities, implying that an able-bodied girl might not be interested. None of those matches worked out.

After trying several dating apps with little success, Ariel decided to stop searching and surrender the process to a higher power. “I’m going to leave this to You, God,” he said.

In 2024, Ariel began working as a motivational speaker, sharing his story on podcasts across the country. Shortly after appearing on the Living L’Chaim podcast with Yaakov Langer, he was matched through the dating website Saw You at Sinai with a woman named Rebecca. After three months of dating, they got engaged and were married in March 2025. Ariel believes he found his soulmate in the merit of inspiring others through his story.

Ariel’s Message

When asked if he would go back in time and change anything—perhaps by avoiding that fateful concert—Ariel’s answer his answer is an unequivocal no.

“I wouldn’t change one thing that happened to me. I would rather have no legs and the connection I now have to God than have legs with no connection to Him and little to no sense of purpose. And I truly mean that. God showed me that there was a bigger purpose for my life.”

Ariel was run over by a train and declared clinically dead—but God gave him another chance. “Now I know why: to build a family, teach my children about God, and share this story so others can see that miracles are real and that they should never give up.”

Click here to visit Ariel's Instagram page.