Posted by: rob
Richard Hammond critically injured - 20/09/2006 19:49
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/5365676.stmElsewhere it was mentioned that he was driving the world land speed record holding car, so I guess that would be ThrustSSC. It's astonishing that a) the BBC considered it OK for its presenter to pilot what is effectively a missile on wheels, and b) that he had the guts to do it. It sounds bad but let's hope for the best.
Rob
Posted by: g_attrill
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 20/09/2006 19:51
It was the UK land speed record car, which Sky News says is Vampire, but some research shows is Split Second:
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1234566,00.htmlhttp://www.thule.co.uk/partners/blsr.aspVery brave to drive it anyway, I hope he is ok.
Posted by: andy
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 20/09/2006 19:57
Looks like it wasn't ThrustSSC, but rather "a Vampire rocket car powered by a Rolls Royce Orpheus Jet Engine".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_HammondI too hope he'll pull through. Hammond, Clarkson and May made TV motoring entertaining again (despite some of their sillier features).
Posted by: rob
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 20/09/2006 20:01
OK that makes a bit more sense. Vampire and Split Second went head to head in June but I don't remember which one won it.
Rob
Posted by: CrackersMcCheese
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 20/09/2006 20:14
Knowing him, he'll be more worried about the record!
Hope 'The Hamster' gets well soon. Seems a really nice genuine bloke.
Posted by: SE_Sport_Driver
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 20/09/2006 22:29
I didn't know who he was until I clicked on the link... I really enjoy his shows and hope he makes a good recovery...
Posted by: tahir
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 21/09/2006 15:36
Posted by: CrackersMcCheese
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 21/09/2006 16:48
All donations to the Air Ambulance Service will be appreciated!
http://www.justgiving.com/PHRichardHammond
Posted by: CrackersMcCheese
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 21/09/2006 18:36
Its a shame it takes this kind of accident to occur before everyone starts donating. In a few weeks it'll have been forgotten about. Its a fecking disgrace they don't get any funding
Posted by: schofiel
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 21/09/2006 19:00
The latest news is that he has suffered "severe brain injuries".
This does not sound good.
Posted by: andy
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 21/09/2006 19:29
Actually, the most recent news is that the doctors are "reasonably optimistic" of him making a good recovery, which sounds a little more promising.
Posted by: andy
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 22/09/2006 08:20
The London Air Ambulance is in fact partially funded by the NHS. They have an online donation form on their site:
http://www.londonsairambulance.org.uk/About a dozen air ambulance accept donation through Just Giving, go to
http://justgiving.com/ and search for "air ambulance".
P.S. Just Giving take a 5% transaction fee on every donation, but for small charities that is a more cost effective way of getting online donations than setting up their own system
Posted by: andy
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 22/09/2006 08:54
It is worth noting however, that even before the recent PistonHeads lead campaign, Yorkshire Air Ambulance does not seem to have a problem with getting the donations it needs. Last year for example they had £1,199,577 gross income with £967,246 of expenditure (which included buying a new helicopter) and they have £418,000 in reserves.
There are other areas that don't yet have an air ambulance.
Posted by: tahir
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 22/09/2006 15:21
BBC:
"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."
Posted by: altman
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 23/09/2006 13:07
Latest news is that he's up and walking (to the toilet at least). Bit shaky and not aware of exactly what happened, but it's pretty amazing to be on your feet after an accident like that...
Hugo
Posted by: andy
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 24/09/2006 06:52
Clarkson has an article in the Sun, giving some more details of what happened.
They think it might have been a burst tyre.
http://tinyurl.com/puyjc
Posted by: mlord
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 24/09/2006 18:03
Great article!
Thanks for the link(s)!
Posted by: frog51
Re: Richard Hammond critically injured - 25/09/2006 13:20
FOr those of you who like a bit of satire, and are feeling reassured at Richard's improvement, visit the Rockall Times -->
http://www.therockalltimes.co.uk/2006/09/25/monorail-crash.html