NYCC - National Youth Cheerleading Certification

When the news broke that 20-year-old Lauren Chang of Newton, Mass., had died during a cheerleading contest last week, there was one person who was not shocked. Jessica Smith, a 19-year-old Californian, says that's because it almost happened to her.

Experts say serious injuries will only increase as stunts get more complicated. Chang died on April 14 during a meet in Worcester, Mass., after she was accidentally kicked in the chest while performing a "basket catch" routine. "Lauren died doing what she loved … cheerleading and being with her friends," her sister, Nancy Chang, told reporters last week. Smith came close to losing her own life after falling 15 feet and landing on her head at a meet in Sacramento, Calif. "I just can't believe girls are still being injured and girls are dying over cheerleading. If anyone told me cheerleading could be the cause of my death I would never have thought that," Smith told ABC News.

But it almost was. In 2006, Smith was a "flier" for a team at Sacramento City College. Smith was performing a trick that required her to do a handstand and then be thrown before landing in the arms of her teammates. But the trick didn't go according to plan because "the guy who was going to catch me lost his balance and I came straight down on my head," said Smith. She ended up with a spinal fracture that doctors say was a millimeter away from paralyzing her.