Richard Hammond injured very seriously

[Glisson]

I knew Hammond could recover quickly

Hyper cool!

[Jack_Bauer]

Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond has been discharged from Leeds General Infirmary and transferred by air ambulance to an undisclosed hospital.

An air ambulance was seen landing on a helipad at the Leeds hospital at around 10.40am and after Mr Hammond was transferred to the aircraft by stretcher, it was seen to take off 11 minutes later.

The 36-year-old presenter was taken to the hospital just over a week ago after a jet-powered Vampire dragster he was driving was involved in a high-speed crash at Elvington airfield, near York.

Hammond was seen surrounded by paramedics, hospital staff and two firefighters as he was wheeled towards the yellow Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA).

Dressed in a white top, he was sitting up on the stretcher clutching either a jacket or blanket. He was clearly seen laughing and smiling as the transfer took place.

It is understood the TV star has been taken to a hospital closer to his home near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.

The TV star was airlifted to the Leeds hospital in the YAA following last Wednesday's accident.

The 370mph jet-powered Vampire dragster he was driving at speeds up to 300mph veered off the runway, flipped over several times and crashed on the grass.

Medical staff at the hospital said his recovery was continuing as he recuperated on a general ward after being transferred from a high dependency unit on Friday.

His wife, Mindy, has been keeping a vigil at her husband's bedside and has thanked the public for their support as her husband continues to recover from his injuries.

In the days after the crash, the TV star said he was so overwhelmed with flowers he was worried he could be in for some ribbing from fellow Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May.

Police and Health and Safety Executive investigations are continuing to establish exactly what went wrong in the incident which happened during filming for the BBC2 motoring show.

A BBC spokeswoman confirmed that the final part of the Best Of Top Gear, which was due to be screened on Sunday, had been postponed indefinitely.

http://motoring.aol.co.uk/hammond-le...28071609990001

Everything looking very positive indeed.

[Coventrysucks]

According to some sort of news, he has been moved to a private hospital closer to his home (there were some pics of him being wheeled to the chopper, and he seemed to be smiling), and one of the doctors from the hospital said that he expected Hammond to be "back to his old self" in 6 months.

[LotusLocost]

According to some sort of news, he has been moved to a private hospital closer to his home (there were some pics of him being wheeled to the chopper, and he seemed to be smiling), and one of the doctors from the hospital said that he expected Hammond to be "back to his old self" in 6 months.

Her is the pichere..
I feard that his face had visible injuries.. Wich would have kept him out of the screen for a longer time...
Glad to see him recover so quickly

[adamfraser]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/new...18_16x9_bb.ram

Stream that in RealPlayer... BBC news of Hammond, shows him walking too!!

[NSXType-R]

That's good news.

[Monty_Burns]

Proof to the police that you can do over 100km/h and not die.

[whiteballz]

what the hell monty, you irish smut pedler!

the car he was driving was custom made car, built to suvive in case of a crash at those speeds, normal cars are nothing like this! you would be dead.

you cream faced devil.

[Viper007]

Strange comments above, but I digress. I am really happy to see him okay he was by far my favorite presenter on top gear. I think he is the funniest and most relaxed, he also is very capable of taking a joke such as the whole teeth whitening thing. I cant wait to see him back on the show.

[Coventrysucks]

Proof to the police that you can do over 100km/h and not die.

I'm sure the police would be able to point you to many cases which would disprove that.

James May:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/...30/mrmay30.xml

As seen on TV: next time it's the Panda for him

(Filed: 30/09/2006)

The character of Richard Hammond is starting to re-emerge after his 300mph accident, writes James May

And it seems he is. I'm writing this five days before you'll read it, and only five days after the event, but so far his performance is little short of remarkable. At this rate, by the time you buy this paper he will be performing unicycle stunts and making me look soft for even worrying about him.

When first I saw him, on the Thursday morning after the crash, things looked very, very bad. His whole existence was being measured by a series of portentous bleeps on a machine and impenetrable hieroglyphics on a big chart at the end of his bed. My mate - and a son, husband, father and brother to others - had been reduced to a string of code.
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But within 24 hours, he had improved. Within 48, he was out of danger. Five minutes ago, as I sat at my desk, bugger me if he didn't ring me up and talk to me in a perfectly lucid, normal way. He was a bit confused, certainly, but it was Richard Hammond. Excellent.

So can we consider him to be officially getting better? Well, we are talking about a man who has had an enormous bang on the head, and who is still quite poorly. Every amateur doctor in the world - self included, shamefully - imagines that his improvement so far is an indicator of how fast he will be back to normal. The truth, of course, is that we're dealing with an injury to a man's mind, the place wherein he exists. That's never going to be simple matter, like waiting for a cut to heal or a broken arm to mend.

Even so, those close to him are seeing more than a mere glimmer of the complete man, and from the few times I've spoken to him I can't help but conclude that the bloke I work with is preparing to re-emerge from the wreckage perfectly intact. Hammond is made largely of the biological equivalent of that high-density industrial-spec rubber used in suspension bushes. You squash it, it bounces back into shape.

Since he's now sitting up in bed and reading, and since this is actually a motoring column, I hope he won't mind if I illustrate my optimism with, um, a slightly corny car analogy.

You see, when I was told on Wednesday night he'd had the accident, I was torn. Do I go to see if he's OK, or wait and let his family have him to themselves? Then the news emerged that his injury was critical, so I threw a few things in a bag.

As you may recall, I bought a new Fiat Panda last week. And there it was, right by the door and full of petrol. I climbed aboard, turned the key, engaged first gear, and then suddenly thought, "Hang on. This doesn't seem right."

And it wouldn't have been right. Not with a product of his beloved Porsche in my garage. The Panda is a great little car and I'm coming to love it dearly, but what if he found out? It's not even properly run in; if I raced from London to Leeds General Infirmary in it, I would effectively be saying, "I got here as fast as I could, mate, and managed 50.8mpg on the way."

So I locked the Panda and went in the Boxster, as fast as I thought would be acceptable to a sympathetic traffic cop.

I hope this doesn't sound in any way fatuous, because it's not meant to. The point I'm trying to make is this. Everywhere I go, people are asking me how "The Hamster" is. As the Beatles might have said, he's getting better all the time. Better, better, better. How much better? Well, obviously you can't trust my opinion because, just like everyone around me, I'm not a doctor either. But here's a sign of how much better he seems. In the next day or so I'll be going to visit him again, and this time I really am going in the Panda. Not because I want to save fuel or preserve my licence, but because there's no real hurry any more.

A steady 69mph cruise at 50.8mpg says I know he'll be all right.

[junaman]

From http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1773

Top Gear star begs BBC to show 280mph car crash

With Top Gear facing the axe, injured presenter Richard Hammond has begged the BBC to show the 280mph car crash that almost killed him.

In a bid to save the motoring show, the 36-year-old is also prepared to appear on television live from his hospital bed as BBC bosses have said they will only screen the new series if Hammond is well enough to appear on it.

Hammond, who suffered a serious brain injury after his jet-powered dragster crashed, is desperate to get in front of a camera as he is worried the programme will be cancelled before he has had a chance to recover from his injuries.

A friend of the presenter, told the Daily Star: "Richard could not stand to feel he was to blame for the demise of the show he loves.

"He's fuming they've postponed the next series because he fears that's the first step towards the BBC pulling the plug permanently. He's terrified they're going to axe it while he's stuck in hospital.

"He'll do anything to keep Top Gear going, even if it means broadcasting from his hospital bed. It would be an emotional broadcast for everyone involved and a ratings winner."

Hammond, affectionately nicknamed the Hamster, has been angered by rumours that Top Gear's future is in doubt as the new series which was due to be aired on October 8 has been postponed indefinitely.

Now out of intensive care at Leeds General Infirmary the presenter has amazed doctors with his fast recovery as only last week his life hanged in the balance.

Reunited with his two daughters Isabella, five, and Willow, two, he is now walking, talking and eating.

Producer Andy Wilman has threatened to quit the show if the BBC try to tone down the show's emphasis on speed and stunts.

While co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson, 46, said: "Swarms of bureaucratic bluebottles are nibbling away at the crash site on York airfield desperately trying to find some reason why Top Gear should be banished from our screens."

[Spastik_Roach]

I propose an angry mob, for no other use than "shutting down" people who want to shut down Top Gear.



Whos with me?

[kingofthering]

I propose an angry mob, for no other use than "shutting down" people who want to shut down Top Gear.



Whos with me?

Me. I like violence and Top Gear. add in some free t-shirts and you've got a deal

[Monty_Burns]

what the hell monty, you irish smut pedler!

the car he was driving was custom made car, built to suvive in case of a crash at those speeds, normal cars are nothing like this! you would be dead.

you cream faced devil.

Yes....I was seriously endorsing the idea that we go driving at 300mph on public roads

You albino Llama..

[The_Canuck]

I propose an angry mob, for no other use than "shutting down" people who want to shut down Top Gear.



Whos with me?

I'll supply the crow bars, bats, boards with nails and of course hockey sticks.