The original film was successful enough to spawn four sequels, along with a novel and comic book series. The only casualty of that incident was a driver's pet cocker spaniel. Final Destination 5's bridge scene is thought to be inspired by the Tacoma Narrows Bridge that collapsed on November 7th, 1940, a mere 4 months after it was opened to the public. The Final Destination's race track scene is notably lifted from the 1955 Le Mans disaster that killed over 80 people when a crash caused car debris flying into the spectator area. Final Destination 2's highway pile-up is said to be inspired by a 125 vehicle pile-up that happened on Interstate 75 in Catoosa County, Georgia, which resulted in the death of 4 people and caused around 40 additional injuries.
While this was the nugget that sparked the idea for Final Destination, it's not the only real-life inspiration for the film series.
