Richard Hammond involved in serious accident...

In case some of you haven't heard yet (I just found out on one of my local Accord group boards):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/5365676.stm

TV host seriously hurt in crash
Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond remains seriously ill in hospital after a crash in a jet-powered car while filming for the BBC programme.

The 36-year-old was taken by air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary's neurological unit on Wednesday.

A hospital spokesman said: "He has seen some improvement overnight, but remains in a serious but stable condition."

Mr Hammond had been in a dragster-style car capable of reaching speeds of about 300mph at Elvington airfield near York.

The hospital said his wife was at his bedside and, at the request of his family, no more information would be released.

The crash will be investigated by the Health and Safety Executive and the BBC.

The BBC said in a statement: "We are looking into all the factors of this accident and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage until we know the full situation."

The dragster car he was driving was believed to have been travelling at about 300mph when it crashed.

Motoring expert Adam Rayner, of Fast Car magazine, said that at those speeds the driver would experience forces similar to those endured by fighter pilots.

"These cars accelerate at 6G - the force is breathtaking and stopping is a real difficulty," he said.

Former firefighter Dave Ogden, who runs private firm Event Fire Services, was one of the first people at the scene of 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 rushed over and found the car upside down and "dug in" to the grass.

Mr Ogden said he felt for a pulse and heard Mr Hammond breathing before the emergency crews worked together to turn the car the right way up and then cut him free.

He added: "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."

Former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson said the presenter was "irreplaceable".

'International personality'

He said: "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 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."

Mr Willson added: "There is no pressure from the BBC or the producer to take undue risks.

"But that pressure is in your own head. You want to do an item on the programme which is mindblowing."

The presenter, who works on Top Gear with fellow hosts Jeremy Clarkson and James May, grew up in Solihull, was educated in Yorkshire and lives near Cheltenham with his wife and children.

In addition to presenting Top Gear for the BBC, he is also presenting the current series of Brainiac on Sky One.

UPDATED: Hammond stable but still critical in hospital....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/5366422.stm

TV presenter 'stable' after crash
Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond is stable but remains seriously ill in hospital after he crashed a jet-powered car during filming for the BBC show.

The 36-year-old was thought to be driving at about 300mph on an airfield near York when he crashed on Wednesday.

The BBC, which is likely to be closely scrutinised, and the Health and Safety Executive will investigate the crash.

Top Gear co-host Jeremy Clarkson, who was visiting the hospital, said many motorists were "rooting for" Hammond.

Clarkson was joined at the Leeds General Infirmary by the show's other presenter, James May.

He said in a statement that Hammond and his family were "the most important concerns we have".

"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."

Referring to Hammond by his nickname, Clarkson added: "Both James and I are looking forward to getting our 'hamster' back."

He was initially reported to have suffered serious head injuries and was taken to the neurological unit of hospital by helicopter.

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

Doctors confirmed that his wife was at his bedside and his family had requested that no further information be released.

Hammond was driving a jet-powered dragster similar to the Vampire - used by Colin Fallows to set the British land speed record.

It is thought Hammond was attempting to break Fallows' record of 300.3mph.

The BBC said in a statement that they had already begun to investigate the accident and promised full co-operation with the Health and Safety Executive.

"We continue to be concerned about his condition and we are keeping in touch with his family," the statement said.

Top Gear has courted controversy in the past over its big-budget car stunts.

In 1999 a group of MPs criticised the series for being "obsessed with acceleration and speed".

Last year, lobby group Transport 2000 called for the show to be taken off the air accusing it of "glamorising speed and failing to make the connection with danger on the roads".

At the time, Hammond defended the programme, saying: "Top Gear is an entertaining show, for people that are interested in cars, that is driven by people who have been motoring journalists for many, many years."

Parachutes deployed

Former firefighter Dave Ogden, who was working with Hammond at the Elvington airfield near York, said the car had done several runs 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."

His crew and an ambulance rushed over and had to cut Hammond free from the wreckage.

Steve Berry, one of Top Gear's former presenters, said the show had changed over the years.

In the past, he said audiences would have been happy to see the presenter interviewing the driver.

"That's not any good anymore... the audience and the TV producers want you as a presenter to be there, on the inside."

Hammond grew up in Solihull, was educated in Yorkshire and lives near Cheltenham with his wife and children.

In addition to presenting Top Gear for the BBC, he also fronted Brainiac on Sky One and had his own show on ITV1.

...As I said on the local board this is very sad news. I really hope for both Richard and his family that he pulls through. Its good to know that both Jeremy and James are right by his side (I mean they are all kind of an extended family), and that motorists around Britan (and the world) are all rooting for him to pull through as well.

For anyone who is religious, say a prayer for Richard...

I'll update this thread if I come across any updates over the next few days.

Wow it would be a real tragedy to lose that guy...I hope there's no complications or anything and tomorrow he's gone

I had no idea who that was until I googled it. It's the guy from "Brainiac". GREAT SHOW! I hope all goes well.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/5369512.stm

Top Gear star 'making progress'
Top Gear's Richard Hammond is out of intensive care and is making "satisfactory progress", doctors say.

The 36-year-old presenter suffered a "significant brain injury" when he crashed a jet-powered car at speeds of up to 300mph during filming.

Doctors at Leeds General Infirmary, where he has been since Wednesday, said his condition was now "stable".

The accident is being investigated by the BBC, police and the Health and Safety Executive.

Event organisers insisted that proper safety precautions were taken.

A Leeds General Infirmary spokesman said: "Doctors say Richard Hammond is making satisfactory progress.

"This morning he has been moved from intensive care on to a high dependency unit.

"His condition has been downgraded from 'serious but stable' to 'stable'."

The doctors treating Mr Hammond have previously said they are "reasonably optimistic" he will make a good recovery.

Mr Hammond's wife Mindy was at his bedside in the Leeds hospital and he was also visited by Top Gear co-hosts Jeremy Clarkson and James May.

Mr Clarkson told the Sun newspaper that he had insulted Mr Hammond's driving skills - prompting a smile from Mr Hammond.

He also said the presenter had no visible injuries following the ordeal he had been through other than a black eye.

The presenter had been driving a jet-powered dragster similar to the Vampire - used by Colin Fallows to set the British land speed record of 300.3mph.

Obsession

Mr Hammond had to be cut free from the car after eyewitnesses at the Elvington airfield near York described how he "veered off to the right" and the car's parachutes were deployed.

Primetime Land Speed Engineering, which is jointly run by Fallows, organised the event.

A spokesman for the firm said the vehicle Mr Hammond was driving on Wednesday "had been prepared and was being operated to the highest of standards".

The BBC said in a statement that it had started an investigation into the accident and promised full co-operation with the HSE.

"We continue to be concerned about [Mr Hammond's] condition and we are keeping in touch with his family," the statement said.

Top Gear has courted controversy in the past over its big-budget car stunts, and in 1999 a group of MPs criticised the series for being "obsessed with acceleration and speed".


Well atleast it sounds now like he is going to make it/pull through this ordeal. The real question is how much damage was done in the accident (as they were saying a strong possibility of severe brain injury before)...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5371556.stm

Hammond talks to Top Gear co-star
Top Gear's James May says he is convinced his fellow presenter Richard Hammond is "perfectly intact" after a conversation at his hospital bedside.

Mr Hammond suffered a "significant brain injury" when he crashed a jet-powered car at a speed of up to 300mph during filming near York.

Mr May said it was not a long talk "but it was a conversation".

"I'm not a doctor but I am his mate and I believe that deep inside the Hammond I know is perfectly intact," he said.

The accident is being investigated by the BBC, the police and the Health and Safety Executive.

Mr Hammond, 36, was earlier moved out of intensive care at Leeds General Infirmary, where he has been since Wednesday, and doctors said he is making "satisfactory progress"

Doctors said his condition had changed from "serious but stable" to "stable".

The doctors treating him have previously said they are "reasonably optimistic" he will make a good recovery.

Mr Hammond's wife, Mindy, and Top Gear's other host, Jeremy Clarkson, have also been at his bedside.

Mr Clarkson told the Sun newspaper that he had insulted Mr Hammond's driving skills - prompting a smile from Mr Hammond.

He also said Mr Hammond had no visible injuries following the ordeal he had been through other than a black eye.

The presenter had been driving a jet-powered dragster similar to the Vampire - used by Colin Fallows to set the British land speed record of 300.3mph.

Mr Hammond had to be cut free from the car after eyewitnesses at the Elvington airfield near York described how he "veered off to the right" and the car's parachutes opened.

Primetime Land Speed Engineering, which is jointly run by Mr Fallows, supplied the car and a support team for the event.

A spokesman for the firm said the vehicle Mr Hammond was driving "had been prepared and was being operated to the highest of standards".

The BBC said in a statement that it had started an investigation into the accident and promised full co-operation with the HSE.

"We continue to be concerned about [Mr Hammond's] condition and we are keeping in touch with his family," the statement said.

Top Gear has courted controversy in the past over its big-budget car stunts, and in 1999 a group of MPs criticised the series for being "obsessed with acceleration and speed".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5372890.stm

Hammond 'has taken first steps'
Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond is continuing to recover in hospital, with friend Jeremy Clarkson saying the crash victim has taken his first steps.

The 36-year-old may be moved to a general medical ward in coming days, Leeds General Infirmary said.

It comes after his wife said the family had been "overwhelmed" with messages of support from around the world.

Mr Hammond suffered a "significant" brain injury when he crashed in a jet-powered car on Wednesday.

The accident is being investigated by the BBC, the police and the Health and Safety Executive.

The 36-year-old presenter's condition is said by doctors to be "stable".

A hospital spokesman said on Saturday Mr Hammond was continuing "to make good progress".

"If this continues then he will be moved from the high dependency unit to a general medical ward at some point in the next few days," he said.

'Spoken and smiled'

Mr Hammond's wife Amanda, known as Mindy, said she has had messages from around the world since his accident during filming near York.

His co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson, a Sun columnist, said in the paper the father-of-two got to his feet and walked "shakily" to the toilet during the early hours of Friday - just 30 hours after the crash.

Mrs Hammond told the Daily Mirror: "He's starting to look like Richard again. He's tough as hell and on his way back.

"He's spoken and smiled. It's early days and what has happened hasn't really sunk in for him.

"The whole family is overwhelmed by everyone's support. There have been so many flowers, cards and e-mails from around the world.

"To know that so many people love him is astounding. We want to thank everyone for their good wishes and prayers."

Mr Hammond's brother Nick told reporters his brother had improved since he saw him earlier in the week.

"He's making good progress. We are very happy," he said.

Fellow Top Gear presenter James May said on Friday he believed the injured presenter was "perfectly intact" after the pair had had a conversation at his hospital bedside.

"I'm not a doctor but I am his mate and I believe that deep inside the Hammond I know is perfectly intact," he said.

The presenter had been driving a jet-powered dragster similar to the Vampire used by Colin Fallows to set the British land speed record of 300.3 mph.

Mr Hammond, from Cheltenham, Glos, had to be cut free after the car "veered off to the right" and its parachutes opened during a drive at Elvington airfield.

Primetime Land Speed Engineering, which supplied the car and a support team for the event, said the vehicle "had been prepared and was being operated to the highest of standards".

The BBC said in a statement that it had started an investigation into the accident and promised full co-operation with the HSE.

A BBC spokeswoman also confirmed the final part of the Best of Top Gear, which was due to be screened on 1 October, had been postponed indefinitely.

It would have been broadcast ahead of the new series of Top Gear but the corporation has said it is not in a position to confirm the transmission of the new series.

Meanwhile, a group of motoring enthusiasts has raised more than £56,000 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance charity - which airlifted Mr Hammond to hospital - after setting up a web page for contributions.



Well...it looks like the Hamster is going to pull through this afterall. I have to say though I really hope he does learn from this ordeal and play it safer in the future. As much as all of us who watch Top Gear love seeing him to crazy things...family is more important and it looks like he has been given a second chance to make sure he is there for them.

I know I just posted two updates...but a friend just emailed me an article written by Jeremy Clarkson about Hammond's crash and his recovery thus far. For those who do not watch Top Gear, Clarkson is Hammond's co-presenter.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006440317,00.html

Richard is winning his fight': By JEREMY CLARKSON SEPTEMBER 23, 2006

IN the wee small hours of Thursday night, just 30 hours after what is almost certainly the world’s fastest ever car crash, Richard Hammond suddenly sat up in bed, opened his eyes and asked what had happened.

“You’ve been in a car accident,” I said. “Was I driving like a tw*t?” he asked, before getting out of bed and walking, shakily, to the lavatory.

His wife, Mindy, couldn’t believe her eyes. None of us could. It really did seem that he’d had a look through death’s door and decided he didn’t like what he saw on the other side.

Later, he looked across at James May and said: “Hello C**k face.”

Despite all the odds, it seemed we’d got our Hamster back . . .

Two years ago, Richard Hammond, James May and I agreed on a plan of action should one of us be killed while making our show, Top Gear.

We decided that after the announcement of the death was made in the following week’s show, the next word should be “anyway”.

So if the Hamster had ever careered through the Pearly Gates in a flaming 200mph fireball, I would put on a sombre face, say that Richard Hammond had died and then, after a small pause, say: “Anyway, the new Jag . . .”

It was a sort of joke. But then this week, it sort of wasn’t.

The idea to drive a jet car actually came from Hammond. He skedaddled into the office one day and, bubbling with his trademark enthusiasm, said: “Hey, why don’t we go somewhere and drive really fast? I don’t mean supercar fast. I mean REALLY fast.”

We all liked the idea. But what we liked even more was the idea of James May being given the assignment.

James is known to his fans as Captain Slow. He thinks dawdling is reckless and practises the art of what he calls “Christian Motoring”. Mostly, this involves letting people out of side turnings and generally being Edwardian.

Putting him, and that ’70s barnet, in a 370mph jet car was a bit like putting just Jane Austen at the helm of a space shuttle.

Immediately, James discovered a prior engagement and said he couldn’t go. I, meanwhile, decided that I spent most of my thirties upside down in jet fighters and helicopter gunships, vomiting, and that these days I was far too fat.

That left Hammond, who was bouncing around like the donkey in Shrek shouting, “Pick me. Pick me”.

And so we did.

Today, people who have absolutely no idea at all of how television works, (Yes, columnist Neil Lyndon — that’s you, you sanctimonious, rent-a-soundbite little t**d) are saying that our producers push us to do more and more dangerous stunts in a bid for ratings.

Rubbish. Our producers spend their whole lives filling in health and safety forms and asking “are you sure?”

It’s the presenters who come up with the hare-brained ideas and trans-continental races . . . not the backroom boys or the suits.

The car Hammond was set to drive is called the Vampire. It’s powered by a Rolls- Royce Orpheus jet engine — as used by the Red Arrows — and currently holds the British land speed record of 300.3mph.

I know one bloke who has driven it and he said simply: “It was brilliant. Although I did fill my pants.”

So, the day before his fateful encounter, I shook Hammond’s hand and said “goodbye”.

“I’ll probably be killed,” he joked with a huge, beaming smile. “Anyway . . .”

He knew that he was embarking on a dangerous mission. And this is what no one seems to understand. He was looking forward to it. He likes the buzz.

He also knew that in Top Gear’s 28-year history, no one on the show has ever been hurt. Not even Ray Mears can claim that. Or Anthea Turner or even Janet Ellis.

Right now no one knows for sure what caused the accident. Film footage seems to point the finger of blame at a tyre. And that’s something you can’t prepare for.

The tyres were from a Nascar racer in America, chosen specifically because they have super-stiff side walls. But it does seem that one of them burst.

How fast was Richard going? Well on the run before, he’d reached 315mph. So it’s likely he’d hit that speed again. Richard isn’t the sort of man who goes backwards. If he thought he’d done 315, he’d be trying to do 317. Or 320. Or five million if he’d thought there was half a chance.

People with beards and dirty fingernails are now saying he should never have been in that car, doing that kind of speed. They make out it’s all terribly complicated and that you need years of practice.

Rubbish. From what I understand, you sit there, you push a lever to light the afterburner and you then push another to shut off the fuel supply — it runs on heating oil — and deploy the parachutes. A hamster could do it. In fact, a hamster did.

Of course, behind the scenes, there was a small army of people making sure all went well. The Vampire team had even brought along a device to measure wind speed. Nothing that could be left to chance had been left to chance. But chance itself was still sitting there, waiting to bite. As the car began its series of sickening rolls, at a speed that boggles the mind, Richard’s head was taking a ferocious pounding as his helmet smashed into the protective steel cage.

That was bad, but inside his body things were worse. He will have been subjected to maybe 100g. This means his brain will have weighed 71 stone. And it was rolling around inside his head at 300 revs per minute.

He landed upside-down, with his helmet, full of soil, buried in the earth. Amazingly, he was alive. And more than that, after a few minutes of unconsciousness, he was lucid.

“I want to do a piece to camera”, he told the crew. He even fought the ambulancemen, who said he couldn’t. No surprises there. Richard likes fighting. He does it a lot.

When I first heard of the crash, I was doing a rather miserable 175mph in an Aston Martin at our test track in Surrey. Everyone was quite upbeat. He didn’t appear to be badly hurt. So I carried on driving round corners a little too quickly while shouting. I even went out for dinner with friends that night.

But later it became apparent that Richard was much more seriously injured than we’d thought. Doctors described his condition as critical.

At the hospital, his wife Mindy was being a star. She’s one of those women who takes things in her stride but this was something else. She was laughing. She was joking.

She’d told daughters Willow and Izzy that Daddy had crashed another car and messed up his clothes. So she was taking him some clean ones. Richard had a bad night. At four he was giving very serious cause for concern but as the sun rose, he’d rallied a bit.

He didn’t look very “rallied” to me. In fact, he looked like a Klingon, with a massively swollen eye and a huge lump on his forehead. The only good news, so far as I could see, was that his teeth were still as shiny and bright as ever.

It’s genuinely hard to know how Mindy could be so upbeat when her husband was so badly dented. They’d just exchanged contracts on a new house. They were about to take out a joint mortgage. And yet, she was still cheerful. James May and I weren’t. May even admits to having been “a bit unmanly” at one point.

There’s one thing though. All we ever hear about the NHS is that it’s rubbish. But anyone who ever experiences the emergency care it provides always notices just how un-rubbish it is in reality.

Leeds General Infirmary is a no star hospital. According to the bureaucrats, it’s terrible. But trust me on this. From where Richard Hammond was lying, it was about as terrible as Angelina Jolie’s left breast.

They were coping brilliantly with a forest of flowers being sent by well wishers. “They’re lovely,” said Mindy, and then, after a pause . . . “Do you think anyone will send cash donations?” Outside, in the real world, one internet site had raised £4,000 for the air ambulance that had saved Richard’s life. Sky News was deluged with thousands of goodwill messages. The Sun received messages from all over the world.


And there was some hope. While James was leaning over, whispering to our bashed-up friend, Mindy started to stroke his hair and I noticed the hamster’s heart rate had shot up from 60 to 75 beats per minute.

“Christ, James. He thinks you’re doing the stroking,” I yelled.

Quickly, the heart beat settled down again. Then came the moment when I said: “The reason you’re here mate is because you’re a c**p driver.”

And he smiled.

I knew then that he was going to pull through. And God it was a relief.

You can never tell after a brain injury what long-term implications there might be. He might have no sense of taste, or double vision. His teeth may go brown. Or he may be absolutely fine.

The only thing I knew was this: he was going to live.

And the next day after he said, “Hello C**kface” to James May, it looked like he might just win back everything else as well.

You’d think that the joyous news would silence the vultures circling the crash site since the accident, rejoicing in the fact that Top Gear had finally been taught its lesson that speed kills.

Somehow I doubt it though. The campaign to have us taken off the air — sparked curiously, by the BBC’s own news website — will now be ramped up, fuelled by the environmentalists and spearheaded by muddle-headed road safety campaigners.

Richard is winning his fight. And now mine begins. To make sure that he has a show to come back to.