PHOTOGABBLE // BLOG POST
Richard Hammond Critical after Jet Powered Carcrash
September 21st, 2006
Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond was Wednesday night air lifted to hospital after a serious car crash while driving a jet powered car. Hospital staff have confirmed that he has improved overnight, however he is still in a serious but stable condition.
Richard had reportedly been making an attempt at the British land speed record in a jet powered car capable of reaching speeds of 300Mph for the popular car program Top Gear. It is believed that as the car crashed it was traveling at almost 300Mph, motoring expert Adam Rayner of fast car magazine, said that at those speeds the driver would experience G-forces similar to those endured by jet fighter pilots.
Former firefighter Dave Ogden was one of the first people on the scene of the crash. He said that "they only had one more run and were planning on finishing before the car veered off to the right", at that point "one of the parachutes had deployed but it went on the grass and spun over and over before coming to a rest."
When the emergency services got to the vehicle it was found upside down and "dug in" to the grass, on recovery Richard was still breathing and had a pulse, emergency services worked quickly to turn the car over and cut him free. At which point he began to resume consciousness and say his lower back hurt, however it's reported that he was drifting in and out of consciousness before being air lifted to Leeds General Infirmary neurological unit.
I do hope that he is alright, I believe that Richard is an irreplaceable presenter and give my best wishes out to his family. According to recent reports his status has changed from critical to serious but stable, I can only hope that it continues to improve.
There are inherent dangers in what the Top Gear presenters do, they aren't forced into taking such risks, however as they push themselves personally to make the next best thing on TV its inevitable that something like this is going to happen, it's just unfortunate that it has happened to such a great guy – I can only hope that he recovers and is back on our screens soon.
Tags: bbc, Car-Crash, Critical, Jet, Richard-Hammond, Top-Gear
2 Responses to “Richard Hammond Critical after Jet Powered Carcrash”
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No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices. – Edward R. Murrow
Isn’t it ironic how his indefatigable energy and eager spirit, for which he is admired and respected by so many (including myself), led to this disaster? I’d also like to add that Mindy, Hammond’s wife, and Jeremy and James, the other presenters of Top Gear, have been outstandingly brave throughout this ordeal and my sympathy and respect also goes out to them.
Is it sad that I’ve spent a lot of time today loking up Hammond videos on YouTube? If you’re interested, looking up the “Ice cold test” and “Hammond Drowns” videos is scary and sad… it’s amazing he’s been through these kinds of dangerous tests and he died purely from driving very fast…
I’m thinking about him loads, I think he’s amazing (and SO cute :x) and hoping he makes a full recovery and will be back on the TV asap…