Hamster crashes Jetcar. Richard Hammond, TopGear - Page 4

Dazza XLT · 24-10-2006, 08:26 AM

Top Gear presenter tells of near death
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Upside down and breathing a field full of dirt, Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond was close to death.

Speaking for the first time since suffering a serious brain injury when he overturned a jet car in a high-speed crash last month, Hammond said he felt lucky to be alive.

"I was upside down inhaling a field," Hammond told Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, in which he also writes a motoring column.

"My nose and eyes were full of earth. I'd gone ploughing on my head."

Hammond was filming for the popular BBC television motoring series when the jet-powered dragster, travelling at 288mph (463.5kph), spun off the runway at Elvington airfield, York, on September 20.

"My very last thought was, `Oh bugger, that's gone wrong. Well, we're checking out now. You've had it,'" Hammond said.

"I was aware of my brain saying, `We'll wave the flag,' and that was the point I passed out.

"Doctors use a point system. Fifteen is normal, three is a flatline. I was a three. I was that close to being dead."

The 36-year-old spent time in intensive care and is expected to make a full recovery.

He is recuperating in the care of wife Mindy, 35, and daughters Izzy, six, and Willow, three.

The only obvious signs of his ordeal are a bloodshot left eye and a chipped tooth, leading him to joke that he had no scars to show off at the pub.

"There are people who fall off their trikes at the age of four who've got better injuries than me," he said.

"I've been through hell and I've got nothing to show for it except a chipped tooth!"

But Hammond, who suffered short-term memory loss known as traumatic amnesia, also revealed a more serious side to his injuries.

He suffered excruciating pain and struggled to make sense of what had happened after he was reduced to a child-like state when he emerged from his coma.

"My mind was like an office that had been utterly ransacked," he said.

"It was a total mess and I couldn't find my way around any more.

"It was utterly terrifying - the scariest thing that's ever happened to me."

The BBC has not confirmed the return of Top Gear to television screens.

The Daily Mirror said Hammond was aware the show was in the spotlight as an investigation into the crash takes place.

"On Top Gear we live in a world where we have to deal with an element of risk," Hammond said.

"It's our job to minimise it.

"The very fact that I made it is testimony to the fact that the precautions we ordinarily take are worth taking. I'm living proof that safety works."
©AAP 2006
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=147192

TwistedEL · 24-10-2006, 08:33 AM

Just finished reading this myself
Sure hope the BBC keeps running with it

Sapper · 24-10-2006, 08:35 AM

Quote:

The 36-year-old spent time in intensive care and is expected to make a full recovery.

Now thats what we like to hear!
God Bless ya Richard, look forward to seeing you back in action soon mate.

EA2BA · 24-10-2006, 08:59 AM

We called a server here at Work Hamster after Richard Hammond, cause it crashed majorly and we bought it back to life.

Good to hear he is fully recovered.

Smoked · 24-10-2006, 11:16 AM

Good on him for pulling thru, really glad to hear.

Dezza · 24-10-2006, 11:49 AM

That's great to hear he's recovering really well. Hopefully we see him back on some new Top Gear before too long. When the article mentioned the chipped tooth, for some reason it made me think about teeth whitening. I wonder why that would be?

AK · 24-10-2006, 03:45 PM

Great news to hear. Hope they dont axe Top Gear..

ten[A]cio[U]s · 24-10-2006, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EA2BA

We called a server here at Work Hamster after Richard Hammond, cause it crashed majorly and we bought it back to life.

Good to hear he is fully recovered.

Thats pretty funny mate.

Its great news hearing that he is ok..

Lukeyson · 24-10-2006, 04:20 PM

Oh no a chipped tooth !!!! Wonder if JC will be game enough to make teeth jokes again ??

Glad he will be ok

XR8putts · 24-10-2006, 04:22 PM

Great to hear. Good man hampster.

If BBC publicly announce TopGears demise.. expect uproar, an international uproar that would be so big that BBC would be forced to take it back

Jayden · 25-10-2006, 12:58 AM

I dont think we will be seeing any deadly stunts if it returns, but thats not what made it great anyway.

fmc351 · 25-10-2006, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XR8fella

Oh no a chipped tooth !!!! Wonder if JC will be game enough to make teeth jokes again ??

Id say that will be one of the first cabs off the rank. He's gonna cop a hammering about the incident, without doubt.

Sledgehammer · 25-10-2006, 07:40 PM

Good News that...

stera · 27-10-2006, 02:37 PM

Richard Hammond has roared back from near-death and can't wait to get back behind the wheel, according to a story in today's Mirror (see link below).

The man who crashed at 288 mph at Elvington airfield just a month ago is itching to get involved in Top Gear's stunts again -- the show will return in January -- although he wrote in his Mirror newspaper column that he'd probably steer clear of jet cars for the moment.

He said that the obsession with safety prior to the bid on the British land speed record saved his life -- and that he is still alive is testament to the fact that all precautions were taken.

What also helped is the swift reaction of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance organisation which whisked him to hospital in just 12 minutes. The appeal for the YAA charity, an initiative of PHers Roger Tattersall and Alex Goss, has raised over £178,000, an amount that soared way above original expectations of maybe a few thousand pounds.

The future
Hammond is currently hiding in a mountain cottage with his family and is supposed to be sleeping as much as possible to allow his brain to heal. However, he said that lying in is not his style.

"Even as a teenager I was out of bed early. The worst thing was being told I couldn't drink for a while", he told the Mirror.

"I have dreamed about the crash and I have had nightmares - experiencing something like that opens your brain up to big, scary stuff. I feel weird. It's been the hardest thing I've ever had to do but I'm all right, I'm getting better. It's a lengthy process but basically it's because of the amount of bruising more than permanent damage."

Sledgehammer · 15-11-2006, 10:54 AM

Latest update, back behind the wheel again.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv--ra...266519812.html

S3SR · 15-11-2006, 10:57 AM

excellent now whens the new episodes coming????? lol at least hamster is ok and back on the horse

Dezza · 15-11-2006, 03:33 PM

That's great news! He's recovering well! Can't wait to see him on Top Gear again.

csv8 · 15-11-2006, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FALCONSR

excellent now whens the new episodes coming????? lol at least hamster is ok and back on the horse

SBS Janiuary 2007, not long. But those episodes are a year old.

Martyvan · 15-11-2006, 08:23 PM

Bring on Top Gear... Cant wait til the new season begins....