The BBC is reporting that Richard Hammond, host of popular car program Top Gear and science program Brainiac, has been seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident. I’m including an image since people who kind-of-know-who-he-is might recognise his face.
He was driving a “dragster-style car” at a former RAF airfield. After admission to hospital and initial treatment, his condition was reported as “stable”.
Update: A followup story on the BBC website includes diagrams of the scene. It also mentions “significant brain injury”, but also implies that he is (hopefully) going to make a good recovery.
Update: Looks like Hammond will be alright. The BBC is reporting that his recovery is “remarkable”. He’s anticipating a ribbing from his fellow Top Gear hosts.
That sucks, Top gear is quality programming. It would be a shame if they toned the risk down from now on.
Couldn’t believe the news. I hope he gets well soon.
I liked Clarkson’s response to the whole thing with “James and I are looking forward to getting our hamster back”.
I don’t know what the latest is on his condition, but I can imagine them wheeling him out in bandages and replaying the crash and asking him what it was like and why he screwed up… and then ending with some sincere man-chat about how much he was missed for a while…
… or is that just me?