Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond critical after crash

Posted on 09/20/2006 under: News

Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond is in a critical condition in hospital after a crash in a jet-powered car while filming for the programme, BBC News reports. The presenter, 36, was taken by air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary which has a special neurological unit. A North Yorkshire Ambulance Service spokesman said he was unconscious when they got to the scene and a hospital spokesman described him as "critical". The BBC confirmed the presenter had been injured during a Top Gear shoot.

Inspector Mike Thompson, of North Yorkshire Police, said officers were dealing with the incident at Elvington airfield, a former RAF base, in North Yorkshire.

He said: "At 5.45pm this evening we received a report via the fire service of a male person trapped in what was described as an overturned jet car which had been driven on the airfield.

"The male occupant has received serious injuries and has been airlifted to hospital at Leeds."

The presenter was born in Birmingham, educated in Yorkshire and lives near Cheltenham.

In addition to presenting Top Gear for the BBC, he also fronted Brainiac on Sky One until recently.

Source: BBC News