Ex-Top Gear host Richard Hammond was airlifted to the hospital following a car crash in Switzerland on Saturday. Hammond was filming his new Amazon show The Grand Tour. The crash happened in the town of St. Gallen in northeast Switzerland. The 47-year old had to be pulled from the wreckage, which later burst into flames. The latest accident comes 11 years after Hammond had a near-fatal crash on BBC's Top Gear.
Hammond crashed after completing a climb of Hemburg Hill in a Rimac Concept One electric sports car. The Rimac Concept One is a two-seat high-performance sports car worth nearly a million American dollars. Grand Tour Co-host Jeremy Clarkson Tweeted that it was the biggest crash that he's ever seen. He says.
"It was the biggest crash I've ever seen and the most frightening but incredibly, and thankfully, Richard seems to be mostly OK.
Clarkson himself is no stranger to crashes, so his statement should hold some serious weight. An Amazon spokeswoman confirmed the news and said that Hammond had been "involved in a serious crash" and that he may have fractured his knee. She went on to say that fortunately "he suffered no major injury." Apparently Hammond was almost able to get out of the car by himself, but needed some help. He was also conscious and talking, but visibly shaken which is quite understanding and a very good sign. Another good thing is that rescuers pulled him out before the million-dollar sports car burst into flames. It seems that Hammond was basically able to walk away from another horrific crash. Hammond was also involved in a motorcycle accident 3 months ago while also filming for Grand Tour.
Thankfully this newest accident does not to appear to be anywhere near as bad as the crash from 11 years ago. Hammond was traveling at 288 miles per hour in a jet- powered car, the Vampire dragster while filming a Top Gear stunt at the RAF Evington airfield just outside of York. That crash left Hammond in a coma with a life threatening traumatic brain injury, which he made a full recovery from after quite a bit of time. The jet-powered car is supposedly capable of a mind-boggling 370 mile per hour, which is just pure insanity. Hammond was truly lucky to survive a crash of that magnitude.
After getting taken to the hospital in St. Gallen a check has revealed that Hammond did indeed suffer a fracture to his knee. Nobody else was injured in the accident and Hammond, again, is very lucky to be alive. Pictures from the aftermath of the accident shown without context would conclude that there is no way possible that somebody could have survived the crash. But again, Hammond seems to have the racing gods on his side. Grand Tour first aired on Amazon in 2016 and has been a moderate success for the streaming company who is trying to compete with the likes Netflix and Hulu. Check out pictures and video of the non-fatal wreck below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCwBBaZ7UAE&feature=youtu.be