[David328M-Sport]

Presenter of British motoring program Top Gear Richard Hammond suffered a significant brain injury in a high-speed crash in a jet-powered car while filming for the program, a hospital spokesman said today.

"He has suffered a significant brain injury," the spokesman said.

"It is still giving cause for concern as it is still early after the injury. However, we are reasonably optimistic that he will make a good recovery."

The 36-year-old presenter was taken by air ambulance to the specialist neurological unit at Leeds General Infirmary after the accident yesterday.

Earlier today, the hospital had said Hammond was in a serious but stable condition after some improvement overnight.

The presenter had been filming at a former Royal Air Force base near York, in what media reports said was an attempt to break the British land speed record of 300.3mph (483.18km/h), when the accident happened yesterday afternoon.

A spokesman for the car's sponsor, Thule, said that although timers were in place to record Hammond's speed, it would not have qualified as an official record attempt.

Health and Safety Executive officials were on site investigating possible causes of the crash.

Co-presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May have both visited their colleague in hospital.

"Obviously, at this time both he and his family are the most important concerns we have," they said in a statement.

"It must be devastating for his wife Mindy and his two utterly adorable children. Both James and I are looking forward to getting our hamster back."

Hammond is affectionately known as "The Hamster" by his legion of fans and is the butt of good-natured ribbing about his diminutive height by Clarkson and May.

He had to be cut from the wreckage of the vehicle which had veered off the track and rolled over, the BBC quoted one of the rescuers as saying.

"We were down there with Top Gear who were filming him trying to break the British land speed record," Dave Ogden, one of those involved in the rescue, told the BBC.

"On the previous run, the car had just gone over 300 mph 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."

Hammond had been able to talk to but was in distress, 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," Ogden said.

The Top Gear show, which tests and reviews cars, enjoys cult status and is broadcast to millions of people worldwide on BBC World.

Quentin Willson, one of the show's former hosts, said of Hammond: "He is a wonderful, unique and distinctive Top Gear presenter.

"He has brought an awful lot to the program 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."

[cdheaven]

heres a little bit more info.
Here's a 300MPH Jet car that weighs 2,200 lbs, is 30 feet long and drinks 7-10 gallons of fuel per mile. The jet-car accelerates from 0 to 272 mph in six seconds and is powered by a Rolls Royce Orpheus jet engine theoretically capable of 370mph. The car holds the "Outright British Land Speed Record" and doesn't like to be told what to do. Top Gear's Richard Hammond is in the hospital after the car ate shit at about 270MPH. Bad jet-car, bad

[SteVTEC]

read about that the other day. very sad. hope he pulls through

[David328M-Sport]

Originally Posted by SteVTEC

read about that the other day. very sad. hope he pulls through

Just happened yesterday

[ALPINE6SPD]

Originally Posted by David325Australia

Just happened yesterday

HES A PSYCHIC

[climkt]

these daredevil entertainers really live life on the edge. sometimes, they just run out of luck and' use up their 9 lives.' steve irwin was another tragic example.
________
Yamaha Raptor 700R
________
BBW VIDS
________
Side effects from paxil

[ahnh77]

"Health and Safety Executive officials were on site investigating possible causes of the crash."

umm..jet engine attached to a car with wheels....accident....is there anything to investigate?....

but...sad news about the accident...

[Gearcraft]

hope he recovers soon.

[sobriquet]

I'm sorry to hear that. I really enjoyed Top Gear while it was on Discovery briefly. IMHO, far better and far more entertaining than our domestic automotive offerings.

Heck.. the only one I can think of is Motorweek on PBS.. and the announcer for that program sounds like he doesn't even deserve a spot on public broadcasting.

[lux.sh]

oh man... hope he comes back alright. he was a great presenter.
Top gear won't be the same without him.

[fibercus]

hope he does a full recovery and is back on the show.

I know I've been hooked on watching the show for 2 yrs now. Its improved so much recently too

[NFS]

Originally Posted by David325Australia

Just happened yesterday

There is another thread on this already - time differences - it happened on Wednesday evening in the UK - it's Friday AM now.

Apparently he is conscious - I heard this morning that when he was visited by clarkson he smiled when jessa told him he was a 'crap driver'.

His doctors say he has suffered a significant brain injury and that his condition is serious but stable.

let's hope he pulls through OK.

[booforty]

A highly popular character, everyone is wishing him a full and speedy recovery.

[climkt]

this guy , 'the hamster', is a good entertainer on top gear. his diminutive size and humble personality and style contrasts with jeremy clarkson's huge build and cocky nature. i sincerely hopes he has mild brain injury- diffuse axonal injury rather than an intracranial haemorrhage.
________
Pregnant Tits
________
BLOWJOB GAGGING
________
Lamborghini bravo

[NFS]

This sounds pretty positive (from about 30 mins ago)

http://www.rte.ie/arts/2006/0922/topgear.html

This is from an hour ago - he has been moved out of intensive care and his condition has improved from 'serious but stable' to 'stable'.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...2/uhammond.xml

Hammond grew up one of the streets near my house and went to the local school, so he is a bit of a local celebrity.

Let's hope we see him walking out of the hospital having made a full recovery sometime soon.

[Hotan Braskey]

Originally Posted by climkt

this guy , 'the hamster', is a good entertainer on top gear. his diminutive size and humble personality and style contrasts with jeremy clarkson's huge build and cocky nature. i sincerely hopes he has mild brain injury- diffuse axonal injury rather than an intracranial haemorrhage.

From what I have heard, the docs have said there is no significant intracranial bleeding, so that is a good sign. Hope he comes out of this just like he went in, but maybe a little wiser.

[- Paul -]

Try here instead,

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30610

[MrSilver]

Originally Posted by climkt

these daredevil entertainers really live life on the edge. sometimes, they just run out of luck and' use up their 9 lives.' steve irwin was another tragic example.

I was thinking the same thing when I heard about this.

I remember seeing him race a guy jumping out of an airplane in a Porsche Cayan (or was it Caman? I always mix them up - the truck).

He got into an accident, and the were all laughing about it on the show.

I thought to myself, this guy's luck is bound to run out some day.

In any event, sad news, and I hope he recovers.

[enwhykiid]

Originally Posted by 1stnewcar

Try here instead,

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30610

yupp repost

[NFS]

Originally Posted by MrSilver

I was thinking the same thing when I heard about this.

I remember seeing him race a guy jumping out of an airplane in a Porsche Cayan (or was it Caman? I always mix them up - the truck).

He got into an accident, and the were all laughing about it on the show.

I thought to myself, this guy's luck is bound to run out some day.

In any event, sad news, and I hope he recovers.

Don't kid yourself - most of what you see on the show is exagerated or staged. These guys do not place themselves at any significant risk. I think this was something Hammond wanted to do and I wouldn't be surprised if he pushed himself a little to far.

As to all the reports that he was trying to break the land speed record - bollocks - apparently there were no invigilators there so this would have been pointless.

They would have had brake points marked out on the airfield and to hit the record he would have needed to accelerate as hard as possible and hit a late brake point. I do not believe for one moment that he was being encouraged to brake as late as the record holder would.

The story is that he was just getting the experience of driving at that sort of speed. Frankly - all this stuff about risk is nonsense. If I was offered the chance to have a go in that car I would jump at it - I have no doubt he did the same.

James May released a statement today saying that he had held a conversation with Richard and that he is confident that the Richard Hammond we all know is intact, sounds like he is still pretty confused and out of it though.