Richard Hammond sobbed ‘tears of relief’ following near-death Top Gear crash

Former Top Gear star Richard Hammond admitted he cried “tears of relief” after nearly dying in a horrific car crash.

The stunt-loving lad was filming shots for a new item to be aired on the BBC show in 2006 when the crash happened. Speeding around a course in Switzerland, he lost control of a supercar worth around £2mn and saw him being rushed to hospital with a slew of bodily injuries.

Doctors were forced to put Richard into a medically-induced coma due to his brain’s frontal lobe suffering a huge injury. Somehow, Hammond was able to pull back his strength and make a miraculous full recovery, but according to medical professionals – he should not have.

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Speaking to Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews on his Big Fish podcast, Hammond recalled how doctors looking at his vital levels had initially told his family to prepare for the worst. At his lowest, Richard was on life support and requiring full breathing apparatus in order to get oxygen to his brain.

After being told by doctors that Richard would likely die from his injuries, wife Mindy asked whether there could be anything they could do to help him. The professionals lamented: “No, not really.”

However, looking back on his horror car crash, Hammond has admitted he still feels guilt for pushing BBC producers to set him the challenge that nearly killed him. There was a sense of regret, but there was also a sense of answering a question that I’ve always wanted the answer to,” he admitted to the reality TV star.

“Because we do all wonder at some point, ‘When’s that going to happen to me?’ and it was very much, ‘Oh, it’s now, and the next thing to do is to die’,” according to the former presenter. “It wasn’t frightening – I wasn’t wildly unhappy, I was very calm.”

Hammond was comatose for several weeks after waking up, his long road to recovery began, being hit with severe depression, memory loss and other challenges that cropped up along the way. Some two years on from the crash, Richard was still struggling with his injuries – but cried tears of relief when he was told recovery could take longer.

Richard revealed: “I remember two, three years after the crash I was making a documentary with Stirling Moss [an iconic racing driver] and talking to a big doctor, Sid Watkins, who was a massive influence in improving helmets in motorsport.” He added that Watkins told him to relax and that recovery could take “a lot longer than [two years]”, advising Richard to “just take your time”.

It was here where Richard broke down in tears, as he felt validation and vindication for his struggles following the terrifying incident. Hammond admitted later in the interview that he suffered from “terrible survivor’s guilt”, that led Richard to a depressive episode.

Continuing to recall the incident, Hammond explained: “I mean, it was me that ran into Andy Wilman’s office [a Top Gear excutive producer] at the BBC. I don’t know why the idea came to me — I just ran in and said ‘Wilman, Wilman, I want to go real f***ing fast, really fast — like, proper fast’. That’s where the idea came from.”

Wilman gave Richard the go-ahead soon after and was able to drive the jet-powered car but whilst filming, one of the tires burst whilst Richard was flying down the track at 320mph, causing the car to lose control and go rolling.

“Was it my fault? I have responsibilities — two beautiful daughters, Izzy and Willow. They’re everything,” Hammond refelcted. “Had I risked them being without a father by my rash actions?”

Thankfully, Richard was able to make a full recovery and despite his survivor’s guilt, he was able to understand that the catastrophic event was an accident. Since then, Richard has kept up his love for speed as he carried on presenting Top Gear, before moving to Amazon ‘s The Grand Tour.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk