Clarkson and Hammond were said to have been really worried when the crash happened
James May was reportedly “hospitalised” after crashing into a wall at 75mph for a stunt on the hit Amazon Prime series, The Grand Tour.
The 59-year-old was said to have been driving a rally car at the time of the accident alongside co-hosts Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond.
May lost control of the Mitsubishi Lancer Eco 8, and “smashed his head quite hard in the impact, and was bloodied by it”, The Sun reported.
“He was complaining about pain in his back and neck. He broke at least one rib and was quite shaken by it,” a source told the publisher.
The star was given the all-clear a day later, The Sun reported.
“It looked extremely worrying at first,” the source told the publication.
“Jeremy and Richard were concerned about their mate and the paramedics swooped in quickly.”
May walked away from the crash having “broke at least one rib”, reports suggest.
The motoring trio, who first started working together on BBC show Top Gear in 2003, were driving through a Norwegian navel base at the time, as part of a new Grand Tour episode when the accident happened.
May has since reassured fans that he is alright.
The gaijin made a cock-up and destroyed honourable Japanese car. Deep shame, sumimassen.
— James May (@MrJamesMay) August 13, 2022
In response to a tweet from a concerned fan, May wrote: “The gaijin made a cock-up and destroyed honourable Japanese car. Deep shame, sumimassen.”
May’s crash is the latest in a series of near misses by a former Top Gear presenter, as colleague Richard Hammond has been involved in several potentially life-threatening crashes while filming.
In 2006, he cheated death when he created a jet-powered dragster that could do over 300mph.
At the time, Hammond told the Daily Mirror: “I was in a bad way when they came to get me. The air ambulance guys were amazed I was still breathing. “At first they said I’d be in hospital for 15 months. Yet here I am ready to go back home after five weeks. I’m so bloody lucky I can’t believe it.”
The 52-year-old had another neat miss in June 2017, after rolling a Rimac car while filming for a Grand Tour episode.
Related links
- People think they spotted a ‘ghost’ walking out of grave in James May’s new Amazon documentary
- Investigation opened up into Jeremy Clarkson’s new restaurant – after he found a ‘delightful little loophole’ to open it
- Will Young says Grand Tour’s Richard Hammond is ‘the worst’ for ‘homophobic jokes’
- Richard Hammond on why he built his own Jeremy Clarkson to keep him company on a desert island
