Naked and Afraid alum Sarah Danser died Sunday, October 20, at the age of 34 following a car crash in Kahala, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Local news outlet KSLA reports that Danser died Tuesday, October 22, after being involved in a car accident, citing Honolulu police. Danser was a passenger in a vehicle being driven eastbound by a 59-year-old man, who lost control of the car and crashed into a parked vehicle, police said.
Danser was hospitalized in critical condition and succumbed to her injuries two days later.
The driver of the car was also hospitalized in serious condition, per the news outlet. Authorities said speed appeared to be the cause of the crash, not drugs or alcohol.
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Danser first appeared on reality show Naked and Afraid in 2017 during season 8 and returned in season 11. She also participated in seasons 4, 6, and 7 of the spinoff show Naked and Afraid XL. Last year, Danser appeared on another reality show, Fight to Survive, which aired on The CW.
The survivalist’s brother, Jake Danser, told KSLA, “Magical is the way to describe her. Sarah had this positive energy about her that just really filled the environment that she was in.”
“I actually saw how much of a difference she made in the lives of others. I think she saved my life once, diving in Indonesia,” Danser’s father, Dan Danser, told the outlet.
“She was smart. She went under the water. She found food, slugs and snails and stuff like that. She knew what to do to survive and she did great,” Danser’s friend Tim Mason added.
According to her family members, Danser, originally from Castle Rock, Colorado, lived in Hawaii for around 12 years.
On her Instagram page, Danser described herself as a “boat captain, scuba diver, survivalist” and a “pirate.”
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Danser’s employer, Island Divers Hawaii, paid tribute to the reality star via Facebook on Thursday, October 24. “Heavy hearts as we say goodbye to a good friend and great captain. Sarah brought such great energy to everyone she came in contact with. You will be greatly missed,” the organization said in a statement.
Naked and Afraid, which airs on Discovery Channel and Discovery+, chronicles a variety of adventure-seekers as they are stranded in the wilderness while fully nude.
Danser’s death comes two years after the death of fellow survivalist Melanie Rausch in July 2022 at the age of 35. Rausch and Danser teamed up on Naked and Afraid XL season 4, which aired in 2018, as they tried to survive the South African wilderness alongside Dustin “Duck” Campbell.
