| DomesticDrifter |
This is really to bad, Hmmond was my favroute next to Jermey.
quote:
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.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/...ire/5365676.stm |
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| Inzane |
Repost, from last week.
I was hoping you had a more recent update on his condition. |
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| DomesticDrifter |
| didn't realize it was a repost... did some googling and it turns out he has "significant brain injuries" and doctors arn't very optimistic.. |
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| nissanz32 |
| According to a written article by Jeremy Clarkson, Hammond is doing extremely well.The problem now is that the BBC wants to cancel Top Gear because they deem the show unsafe. |
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| midnite |
| he was moved out of intensive care last weekend, and is talking and walking again |
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| midnite |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5390598.stm
The recovery of Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond has been "absolutely remarkable", says the ambulance team which moved him to a Bristol hospital.
Mike Lindley of Yorkshire Air Ambulance estimated Mr Hammond could be nearly back to normal in two or three weeks.
His team had taken the presenter to hospital in Leeds after he crashed his jet-powered car on an airfield.
And he appeared to be in good spirits, smiling and laughing, as the same air ambulance transferred him on Thursday.
The TV star was later seen walking into an ambulance on arrival in Bristol, which is near his home.
Mr Lindley told the BBC: "His recovery is absolutely remarkable.
"He was sort of talking to the crew, sort of laughing and joking, although he was a bit unstable on his feet."
He added: "Given his sort of progress so far then I would suspect in two or three weeks he'll certainly be, if not all the way back to his normal self then certainly well on his way."
Mr Hammond had been receiving treatment for a brain injury at Leeds General Infirmary but will continue his recovery at the Bupa hospital in Clifton, Bristol.
Neurosurgeon Stuart Ross said rest could help Mr Hammond recover from his "brain injury" within months.
"There comes a period now which is unfortunately slow and is difficult to get through. But there comes a period when he has to get over the injury.
"He has to rest and allow his brain to recover and that takes time. I'm sure that once that period is over he will be back to his old self."
The accident happened while he was filming the BBC show last Wednesday.
Mr Hammond 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.
'Ribbing'
The 36-year-old has since received hundreds of cards and flowers from well-wishers.
Mr Hammond said he was so overwhelmed with flowers he was worried he could be "in for some ribbing from fellow Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May".
Donations to the air ambulance which flew him to hospital stand at £148,000.
A BBC spokeswoman confirmed that the final part of the Best Of Top Gear, which was due to be screened on 1 October, had been postponed indefinitely.
Police and the Health and Safety Executive are continuing to investigate the crash. |
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| Inzane |
quote:
Originally posted by nissanz32
The problem now is that the BBC wants to cancel Top Gear because they deem the show unsafe.
That would be throwing out the baby with the bath water!
:mad: |
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| Can't_stop_ns |
| Seems like its a lot safer then say, swimming with stingrays. |
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| ChromeDragon |
It's all pretty lame. People take chances walking across the street every day, that doesn't mean they ban people from crossing the street.
When it comes down to it, 300mph is not THAT fast compared to many of the landspeed records out there and I'm sure Hammond was perfectly aware of the risks involved. There is no way they would have forced him to do it against his well. Or who knows ... maybe the BBC strapped him in there and told him they would kill his family if he didn't break the record.:rolleyes: |
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| 98camry |
| yeah, whats the point of living if there werent risks involved. it would just be boring as hell knowing that you would be perfectly safe |
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| mwdguy |
Pic showing hime being moved to a hospital closer to home ...
he looks to be in good spirits.
Some comments i read and found interesting
From Clarkson:
quote:
Well, contrary to reports that he was put there by ratings-hungry producers, it was his idea. He wanted to know what it would be like to go really fast. And I know exactly why.
If he’d been interested in flowers and vegetables since a young age, he might very well now be standing in a pair of wellingtons on Gardeners’ World, talking about compost. But he isn’t interested in compost — he’s interested in speed.
and another
quote:
It therefore seems likely that soon, in a matter of weeks maybe, the Hamster will be back on his feet and ready to start work. The question is: will he have a show to go back to?
As I write, swarms of bureaucratic bluebottles are nibbling away at the crash site on a York airfield, desperately trying to find some reason why Top Gear should be banished from the screens.
A bit off topic, but does anyone know if episodes are available on DVD? |
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| hub |
quote:
Originally posted by 98camry
yeah, whats the point of living if there werent risks involved. it would just be boring as hell knowing that you would be perfectly safe
Yeah, the guy risked his life for the viewers, props to him. |
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| 98camry |
| dont think he really did it all just to please the viewers, theres was an article written by jeremy clarkson saying that richard just loves speed and going faster and faster. |
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