Top Gear's Richard Hammond critical after 280mph crash

[Yeo]

Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond was fighting for his life last night after an attempt to break the land speed record ended in disaster.

Hammond, who was filming for a forthcoming episode of the BBC2 show, crashed at speeds of up to 280mph, overturning his jet-powered car several times.

The 36-year- old presenter was flown by air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary after the accident at an airfield near York.

Witnesses at Elvington Airfield said he had been on his last run of the day in the 5,000 bhp Vampire jet car when tragedy struck.

The car veered off the track in a cloud of smoke, turning over more than once and landing upside down, leaving Hammond trapped inside.

Dave Ogden, from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, who was on standby at the airfield, said the car's roll cage had saved Hammond's life.

'The car was propelled by a Red Arrows engine,' he said.

'It was the final run of the day and he had got up to speeds of 280mph.

'I don't know quite what happened but the parachute deployed, there was quite a lot of smoke and the car veered off to the right onto the grass. It turned over a couple of times.

'The car was upside down. The roll cage had dug in and Richard was upside down with his head down into the soil. We opened his visor and fortunately he was still breathing.

'The ambulance came across and the paramedic and his partner managed, with help from the film crew, to right the car.'

He said Hammond was placed on a stretcher board and airlifted to hospital. Last night he was in a critical condition.

Hammond, who lives near Cheltenham with his wife Amanda, 41, and two daughters, started his television career on cable and satellite channel Men & Motors.

He became a household name when he joined Jeremy Clarkson and James May on a revamped version of Top Gear in 2002.

Last night May was said to be devastated at the news. His agent, Annie Sweetbaum, said: 'He's really shocked, his words to me tonight were "he's such a good mate, I'm so upset". He said as soon as he's allowed, he wants to go and see Richard.'

Former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson said one of Hammond's best qualities is that he has 'no fear'.

He told BBC News 24: 'It does sound very serious. It is a huge, huge tragedy. He is a wonderful, unique and distinctive Top Gear presenter.

'He has brought an awful lot to the programme and his indefatigable energy, the fact that he tries absolutely anything once, may have been the reason that he has overstepped the mark a bit.

'Richard has no fear and that is his most wonderful quality.' As his popularity increased, Hammond began to present several daytime television programmes in his own right, including Should I Worry About? on BBC 1.

He is also a columnist on a national newspaper. Outside television, he enjoys buying old cars and reconditioning them.

He is believed to have been driving the same car that set the British land speed record of 300.3 mph six years ago.

It is thought he may have been trying to break this record for the show. The Vampire is theoretically capable of going 370mph and is powered by a Rolls-Royce Orpheus jet engine.

It can accelerate from 0 to 272 mph in just six seconds.

The car was driven by Colin Fallows, a drag racer from Northampton, when the record was set.

Last night a spokesman at Leeds General Infirmary confirmed Hammond was in a critical condition.

A BBC spokesman said: 'The incident happened quite recently and the focus of our attention is on Richard at this stage.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=406197&in_page_id=1770
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[Yeo]

Vampire jet car


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[MG Man]

remember when he drove the Bowler Land Rover?
"I...........am..............a..............driving...............GOOOOOOOD!!!!!"
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I know it's so, for I told me so

[Yeo]

Jeremy Clarkson pays tribute to Hammond after high speed crash


Jeremy Clarkson arrives at the hospital in Leeds.

Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson today paid tribute to his co-presenter Richard Hammond, who is in a serious condition in hospital after a high speed crash,

Clarkson, speaking at Leeds General Infirmary, where Richard Hammond is "serious but stable" in intensive care, said: "I would just like to say how heartened Richard will be when I tell him just how many motorists and truck drivers on my way here wound down their windows to say they were rooting for him.

"James May and I are at the hospital in Leeds where Richard remains in intensive care. Obviously at this time both he and his family are the most important concerns we have. It must be devastating for his wife Mindy and his two utterly adorable children.

"Both James and I are looking forward to getting our hamster back."

James May co-presents the BBC programme with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond.

Hammond, 36, was airlifted to the hospital after the "rocket powered dragster" he was in crashed at Elvington airfield near York yesterday.

A spokesman for Leeds General Infirmary said Hammond's condition, which was described as serious but stable, had showed some improvement overnight.

The crash happened while he was filming an apparent attempt to break the British land speed record.

A former firefighter who was one of the first on the scene after the crash said Hammond had been travelling at speeds close to 300mph.

Dave Ogden, who runs private firm Event Fire Services, said the crash had happened on the last "run" of the day. Mr Ogden was helping to provide emergency cover at the airfield in case of an accident when he saw the crash.

He said: "We were down there with Top Gear who were filming him trying to break the British land speed record.

"On the previous run the car had just gone over 300mph but I am not sure if it had broken the record.

"They had just done one more run and were planning to finish when it veered off to the right.

"One of the parachutes had deployed but it went on to the grass and spun over and over before coming to a rest about 100 yards from us."

He said his crew, and an ambulance that was already on the airfield, found the car upside down and "dug in" to the grass.

Mr Ogden said he felt for a pulse and heard Hammond, who was unconscious, breathing, before the emergency crews worked together to turn the car the right way up.

They cut Hammond free, placed him in a neck brace and on a stretcher before the air ambulance arrived.

"He was regaining consciousness at that point and said he had some lower back pain. But he was drifting in and out of consciousness a little bit," Mr Ogden said.

The current British land speed record is held by Colin Fallows, from Northampton, in his dragster Vampire, which reached 300.3mph in 2000.

It was not clear whether Hammond had been using Vampire to make his attempt at the record.

Hammond, who often drives high-performance cars as part of presenting Top Gear, was born in Birmingham but lives just outside Cheltenham with his wife Amanda and two children.

He first appeared on British television screens on cable and satellite channels presenting motoring programmes before switching to the BBC's Top Gear in 2002.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "The focus of our attention is on Richard at this stage."

Top Gear magazine editor Michael Harvey told BBC News 24: "Clearly at those kinds of speeds the tiniest little thing has to go wrong and the speed obviously massively exaggerates the consequences of anything going wrong.

"This wasn't a high performance car, this wasn't a road car, this was a rocket-powered dragster which bears absolutely no relation to the kind of cars which are the main fodder of the Top Gear programme - this was a car that clearly contained its own risks."

He added: "I know every single precaution will have been taken but something clearly absolutely unaccounted for has gone wrong, and Richard has unfortunately suffered the consequences."

Former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson said one of Hammond's best qualities was that he had "no fear".

He told BBC News 24: "It does sound very serious. It is a huge, huge tragedy. He is a wonderful, unique and distinctive Top Gear presenter.

"He has brought an awful lot to the programme and his indefatigable energy, the fact that he tries absolutely anything once, may have been the reason that he has overstepped the mark a bit.

"He is irreplaceable. He has turned Top Gear into a gang show with Jeremy and James and the three of them have wowed audiences all over the world and he is an international personality."

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said an inspector would be visiting the airfield today to make initial inquiries over the crash.

http://www.24dash.com/showbiz_slapdash/10748.htm
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[NarendZORCE]

Ever since Clarkson got his back injuries, I find that Hammond has been trying more of the 'oversteer' driving and riskier business.

Just last night I was looking at the episode in season 8 where Hammond tested the BMW Z4 M edition. He was not as smooth as Clarkson, but he pulled it off. Clarkson's feature on the Mercedes S class right after was filled with effects and sursprisingly, just as exciting. I thought to myself... "What is Richard Hammond doing?"

He is however, someone with a serious will and as long as he has the will to live he will make it!
_________________
Drags, Circuit, Solodex, Rally, Karting, the Shows, the Girls, the Car you drive...
ZORCERs done know... the speed lifestyle magazine in the Islands, ZORCE
Click to hear it >> http://www.zorce.com/fortheforums/Zorce15NEW.mp3
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...........................................................
Oh Yeah! Feel the Rush, it's like... WOW!
May the (Mass x Acceleration)-F+Z be with you...

[NarendZORCE]

http://www.topgear.com/content/news/stories/1112/

September 23, 2006
Richard 'taken first steps'
Richard continues to make good progress as he recovers from his jet car accident on Wednesday.

He remains in a stable condition and his family have said he has been moved to a general medical ward.

Doctors at Leeds General Infirmary have said they are 'reasonably optimistic' that he will make a good recovery - and Jeremy said today that Richard has already managed his first few steps.

Richard's wife Mindy and their daughters Willow and Isabella have been 'overwhelmed' by support from fans and well wishers. They have received flowers, cards and emails from all over the world.

We alone have received well over 12,000 emails since the accident from Top Gear readers wishing Richard well - and the inbox is still growing.

A website set up by fans has also managed to raise more than �50,000 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which airlifted Richard to hospital on Wednesday.

The accident happened during filming for the new series of Top Gear at the former RAF airfield in Elvington, near York.

Richard was taken by air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary's neurological unit.

Jeremy and James have both visited Richard and Mindy in Leeds - and you can read Jeremy's statement here. Like us, their thoughts are with Mindy and the family.

Obviously we expect the crash will be fully investigated by the Health and Safety Executive and the BBC.

The BBC said in a statement: "We are pleased to hear that Richard continues to improve and are staying in close touch with his family.

"The circumstances of this accident will be fully investigated by the BBC, and this process began on Wednesday night.

"We will, of course, be fully co-operating with any investigation by the police and the Health and Safety Executive. Until the BBC's investigation is complete, it would be inappropriate to comment on the details of what happened."
_________________
Drags, Circuit, Solodex, Rally, Karting, the Shows, the Girls, the Car you drive...
ZORCERs done know... the speed lifestyle magazine in the Islands, ZORCE
Click to hear it >> http://www.zorce.com/fortheforums/Zorce15NEW.mp3
Download & SEE iT! >> http://www.zorce.com/fortheforums/Zorce-15.mp4
...........................................................
Oh Yeah! Feel the Rush, it's like... WOW!
May the (Mass x Acceleration)-F+Z be with you...

[Plex]

glad to see he is making progress..