Richard Hammond: My 320mph Crash Changed My Life In Unexpected Ways

Richard Hammond reveals the true feelings of his near death crash and how it has shaped him and his life since.

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📖 Richard Hammond is a British television presenter best known for "Top Gear" and "The Grand Tour". He is the CEO of "Drive Tribe" and host of "Richard Hammond's Workshop.”

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[MRoooo]

Richard nails it, if people are having memory issues and their happy that's wonderful. The last times I spoke to my 96 year old Grandfather, he thought I was an old friend (1920's old) and was talking about how much fun we had and that we need to get together again. He was so happy, I went along with it and we some laughs.

[urock]

I never imagined Hammond to be so philosophical. But I suppose a handful of near death experiences will do that to you. Great interview!

[TheDude]

Dude going deeper than I expected him to. Despite all the things science has come to understand, the human conscience remains an enigma.

[jedtayloruk]

I died, my heart stopped after a dramatic loss of blood. I was lucky to have my Mother there, all I remember is asking her “am I going to die now”, then all I saw was dark but absolute peace, no pain or fear about it….obviously they revived me but that is the most poignant memory I think I will ever have. Truly a life changing thing.

[Wankle.]

It seems Hammond has a hidden intelligence that he does not reveal to us in the shows he’s part of. What a joy this was to listen to.

[pokegan]

As a fan of top gear and as someone who never met Richard, when the Rimac crash happened I was not well for many weeks. These 3 mean so much to me and my childhood

[linda]

I've never heard Hammond like this before, maybe a near fatal crash changes you but I think he is so much more deep than we ever got to know him on GT. Love you man

[siamsurf]

I once fell while skiing in the Alps, and I knew instantly that I would go off a cliff any second and fall to my death, no matter what I would try. It was the most serene feeling I ever had. I eventually saw faces with moving lips and realized that I must have not fallen off the cliff. It took some time for my hearing to return and me being able to move again.

[AissurDrol]

Man, Hammond is such as smart and well spoken gentleman. That never really comes across in Top Gear. What an awesome guy.

[Ampedmountainbiking]

Watching this reminded me of my own experience facing death as I witnessed the loss of my leg in a motorcycle accident. In that moment, I also felt an overwhelming sense of calm and acceptance, almost as if everything just made sense. It’s a strange yet serene feeling, one that I never imagined would be so peaceful. Thank you for sharing this—it really resonated with me

[Prince-qrte]

Having a near-death experience will bring a total shift in perspective that there's no coming back from. In the split second before you think it's over, you realise just what's really important and what you've wasted your time with.

[dionlindsay]

Interesting how significant trees are. When my parents weren't well and I was staying with them I dreamt I walked through their village, out the other side, up a gentle hill that wasn't an effort, turned round and sat with my back to a tree until I woke up. I was very comforted by the dream.

[Elthenar]

He suffered what's called a Diffuse axonal injury. That is an ultra serious brain injury and a lot of people just don't wake up from it.

I don't think Richard would ever brag about this but if he chose to, he can honestly say he stopped a 300 mile an hour car with his face and survived.

[tammycooke]

Thank you for sharing this tragic accident and it's repercussions! Don't ever apologise for repeating the events of this accident, I had tears in my eyes for you and your family during this video clip. I am glad you are back making people laugh and doing what you love doing. X

[cromwellg]

What he says about shouting at the person is very interesting. I remember when my dad was dying and and had fallen into a coma (he was terminally ill), I could see he was fighting to stay alive even though he wasnt conscious. I stroked his head and told him it was ok and everything was taken care of and that he should just let go and he calmed and passed away soon afterwards. I didnt want him worrying about us, and to know we were all taken care of would have been extremely comforting to him. The reason im saying this is that people in comas can still be communicated with and to some degree understand what is going on. Very interesting indeed.

[BenRelle]

Hammond came and talked to a large-ish audience at a firm as I was working at at the time about risk-taking. This was post crash, and it was clear that he wasn't fully over it. Nothing like the confidence we see in this clip. So glad to see him fully recovered.

[andywilliams]

I'm really glad Mindy got angry and really shouted at him, I don't think he would've survived if she had not done so. I really think that coma dream was Richard making his departure from this world, but Mindy shouting at him made him turn round and decide to stay here.

[stevenread]

5:20 - 100% agree with this. I cared for my father after he had a stroke, and then several more. His memory wasn't ever the same again and it's something that I had to adapt to more as his carer than he did- his memory long term was still sharp as a tack. Short term memory was full of holes and he needed constant reminders about things. Normally he was perfectly happy. Some few times realisation crept in and that was hard for us both. He would get very distressed as he 'knew' at that point that he wasn't quite 'right'. Those times where worse than when he just went about his day not realsiing that his memory was gone. Bless him. Glad the Hampster managed to more or less recover from this.

[LynnEbury-ks]

The honesty and openness really makes us realise how life can be changed in an instance. We'll done Richard for going back to the career that could EASILY have ended your life. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[derp]

3:15 is exactly how I felt when I almost died. No fear, just a realization. “Ohh, so this is how I die.” So strange - it should be a terrifying moment, but when it happens, you’re totally ok with it.