Jeremy Clarkson relives moment he thought Richard Hammond died in horror crash

At the weekend it was revealed that Richard Hammond is lucky to be alive following a horror car accident whilst filming for his TV show The Grand Tour.

Richard miraculously managed to crawl out of the wreckage just seconds before the car burst into flames, escaping with only a fractured knee.

Richard’s co-stars, Jeremy Clarkson and James May, both feared that their friend had died when they saw the wreck, with Jeremy witnessing the £2million car explode into flames after Richard careered off a hillside at a speed of 120mph.

Now the 57-year-old presenter has opened up about the incident, recalling the accident on Drivetribe.

Jeremy wrote: “I saw a plume of smoke. Fearful that the ‘off’ may be quite serious, I urged the driver to get to the top of the hill as quickly as possible. I arrived maybe 30 seconds later and leaped out to see an inferno raging, maybe a quarter of a mile away, at the bottom of a hill.

“And as I stood there, waiting for news, it dawned on me that the burning car was not yellow, as the Aventador was. It was white. Hammond’s Rimac had been white. And I can feel it now; the coldness.

“My knees turning to jelly. It was Hammond who’d crashed. I was joined at this point by James [May]. He was in a right old state, his arms waving frantically, his eyes wide. ‘Hammond’s in there.’ He was screaming.

“Then came news from a nearby marshal that he wasn’t. That he’d got out before the fire started. And that ‘his body’ – that’s what they said – was behind a screen at the bottom of the hill.

“I could see the screen. I could see the paramedics behind it. I couldn’t see Hammond. I didn’t want to see him. Not after a crash that big. He wasn’t going to be a pretty sight, that’s for sure.

“Our security man is made of sterner stuff and set off down the hill like a racing goat. I watched him arrive at the scene. I watched him intently. I saw him lift his walky talky and I heard him say ‘It’s all right fellas. He winked at me.’

Richard was airlifted to hospital in Switzerland, where they were filming, and later posted a lighthearted video from his hospital bed entitled ‘I’m Not Dead’.

In the clip, the star apologised to his wife, Mindy, and their two daughters, quipping: “I’d like to say thank you to James May who smuggled in a bottle of gin for me last night – I shouldn’t have said that out loud – and most importantly sorry to my wife Mindy and my daughters.

“Izzy and Willow. I’m sorry for being such a colossal… Thank you. More news later.”

This is far from Richard’s first brush with danger – back in 2006, he almost died in another accident, suffering serious brain injuries and earlier this year he was also involved in a motorbike crash.

Read more:

[ James May nearly died while filming The Grand Tour ]

[ The Grand Tour slammed for ‘crass and insensitive’ car stunt ]

[ Richard Hammond sparks outrage by claiming only gay men eat ice cream ]