Darius Campbell Danesh survived near-death experiences twice before his demise at 41. Check out the details

The actor and singer Darius Campbell Danesh, who became famous on the ITV talent competition show Popstars and Pop Idol twenty years ago, died unexpectedly.

Although the precise cause of death is still unknown, his relatives said he was found dead in his U.S. home. "It is with tremendous sorrow that we inform Darius Campbell Danesh's passing," the group said in a statement.

Over the years, Darius had two near-death experiences. He admitted to Hello! magazine in 2010 that he met a car accident that left him with a fractured neck. He was a passenger in a Porsche that skidded on oil and hit a wall at 70 mph while traveling to Spain. He declared at the moment, "I'm very grateful to be alive. Certainly, one of my nine lives has been used.''


Five years later, Darius drank water from the Thames and became meningitis-positive, putting him into a coma.

While making a promotional video for his fund's Fresh2O Water filter, which is marketed as removing 99.9% of all known "water-borne illnesses, bacteria, and viruses," the terrifying incident happened when he drank water from a Thames sewage outlet.

At the time, he explained to the Sunday Post: "We filmed a demonstration movie down by the Thames adjacent to a sewage exit to gather funds to transport the water filters to Africa. The filters eliminate 99.99% of all known water-borne diseases, bacteria, and viruses."

"I raised the money and drank the water for the video, but when I traveled to Glasgow to visit my mother for her birthday, I passed out."

Darius added, "I was found to have cerebral edema, a disorder where the brain enlarges beyond the size of the skull."
"My dad helped me survive. He drove me to the hospital, where they immediately made a diagnosis. Bacterial meningitis struck me."

"I had a lingering inflammatory illness that I had caught from the Thames."

He disclosed, "It caused my white blood cell count to drop for several months and reduced my immunity, making me susceptible to catching any illness."