Angel Of Death Or Something Else?

I have known this story for so many years, and often searched for answers online but still feel rather confused. I have been reading stories on this website for over 5 years and always wanted to post this but never got round to it. However, again, its late at night and I am thinking about the event and needing answers.

So this took place around 21 years ago. My cousin, who was 24 at the time, was out for a drive one night and when he came home he was spooked by something that had happened. He told his mum, and as he often played a lot of pranks and would like to joke around, his mum didn't want to believe it and told him to stop trying to scare her.

What he had told her was that when he was out for a drive that evening, he looked in his rearview mirror and saw what looked like a man standing in the middle of the road. He stopped the car as he was concerned the man was lost or needing help as there was nothing close by, and no other vehicle in sight which he could have travelled in. It was simply just a long stretch of road. When he got out his car he noticed the man was no longer there, so he shouted out things such as, 'are you OK?', 'do you need any help?'. There was no response and my cousin couldn't understand where the man could have gone. As a result, he got back into his vehicle and as he was about to drive away he looked in his rearview mirror again and saw the man standing in the same original spot. He told his mum that his heart started to race and he pressed on the gas and left as quickly as he could.

Now I'm not sure if this was the next day or within the same week, but my cousin's brother noticed that the neighbour's dog was howling a lot recently and he joked and said, 'oh no I hope that isn't a sign of death coming' (both brothers had a bit of a dark humour). Again, the mum said please stop joking like this... God forbid.

Following these events, the mother woke up one morning and could not stop crying. She lay on her son's bed (the one who was out on the drive that evening) and she hugged him from the back while crying her heart out. He joked and said, 'Mum, that's no way to wake someone up'. She told him that she was getting a bad feeling.

The next day my cousin was out for a drive again. That day, the police came knocking on the door and informed my auntie and uncle that their son had died in a car accident.

Till this day our hearts are breaking as it was such a tragic loss.

After this heartbreaking event, his mum told us what he had been scared of that day when he saw the figure on the road, and the events that occurred in the same week. I have since wondered what it could have been and if it means anything?

Thank you in advance for any feedback.