I believe there could be something to this story. I think some people have had premonitions. It's happened to me but it's been about something insignificant. Although I did have a dream once and a week later similar events with the same people in the dream happened.
I certainly think it's entirely possible.
Sometimes you just know. You don't know how you know or what your know, you just know. I don't think it is a premonition, but just a sense of something changing.
My great grandmother used to dream she would get a telephone call from someone at night--whoever called her in those dreams was the next one top go.
I used to pray at night "Please God!! Don't make me call Bigmama tonight!"
I had one about my best friend dying. I had it just a couple of weeks before she died suddenly and unexpectedly. Told my husband about it the morning after I had the dream. After she died he asked me not to tell him if I have any dreams about him dying. I think one way to know if it is true is if there is some record of the premonition before hand...like a journal.