Richard Hammond revealed how his wife’s screams saved him from a near-death coma after hesuffered brain injuries in a 288mph rocker car accident.
The clip has reemerged online after the Top Gear host, 55, announced his split from wife Amanda, also known as Mindy, after nearly three decades of marriage.
In 2006, the broadcaster suffered life-threatening head injuries and was in a six-week coma following a high speed crash during filming for the hit show.
Mindy flew to be at her husband’s bedside after he careered off the Swiss hillside and said: ‘I did say three strikes and you’re out. You’ve had two goes.’
Sitting beneath a tree in the Lake District two years ago, Hammond divulged that he was mere seconds from death and doctors believed he wouldn’t pull through.
But he miraculously survived the ordeal, finding strength to gain consciousness once again after dreaming of the stunning countryside in north England.
However it was Mindy’s ‘roar[ing]’ and ‘scream[ing]’ warning the presenter ‘don’t you dare die’ waking him from the near death experience.
‘In hospital, in intensive care, things were apparently not looking very good, but I didn’t know. There was a lot of morphine floating around my system’, he said.
Richard Hammond has revealed how his wife saved his life by screaming in his ear when when he was on the brink of death in a coma following a horror high speed crash in 2006
Richard Hammond has revealed he’s split from his wife Mindy after 28 years together (pictured during their last public appearance together in February 2024)
The Top Gear presenter took to X to share the news in a joint statement, sharing that they will ‘always be in each other’s lives’
The couple married in 2002, and they share daughters Isabella, 24, and Willow, 22
When he awoke he explained to his wife whilst in a coma he had been imagining himself walking in the Lake District overlooking Buttermere.
‘I was having a lovely time strolling along and gradually I got a growing sense of — you know when you know you’re in trouble? That feeling grew and grew,’ he added.
As Richard walked further up the slope, towards one particular tree, the feeling of trouble only became more apparent – until it grew so strong that when he turned around he was once again awake.
After Richard told his wife Mindy about his dream, she enlightened him what had been happening at the same time in the hospital room.
He explained: ‘She had been called into intensive care and told “Mrs Hammond, I’m really sorry. Things aren’t looking good… we’re going to lose him”.’
When told there was nothing she could do to help, Mindy asked if she could try shouting at him.
‘And she did. And apparently she roared and screamed and swore at me “don’t you dare die”. And that’s when I turned back from this tree in my dream. And that’s when I woke.’
He added: ‘My last thought took me somewhere I love and somewhere I’m happy.
‘And that last thought, if I had shut down and stopped, would have echoed, as far as I was concerned, for all of eternity. And I’ve found immense comfort from it ever since.
‘I’m not scared of this old tree. I pass it regularly… every time I pass it, I do feel comforted. I know it’s where I’ll go.’
Today, the Top Gear presenter and his wife took to X to announce their split, sharing that they will ‘always be in each other’s lives.
The couple, who married in 2002, share daughters Isabella, 24, and Willow, 22, and it’s thought that newspaper columnist Mindy has asked to keep the £7million Bollitree Castle estate as part of their split settlement.
In a statement on X, Richard said: ‘A little update from us; this Christmas we were together as a family and this year we will still be a family but just structured a bit differently.
‘Our marriage is coming to end, but we’ve had an amazing 28 years together and two incredible daughters.
‘We will always be in each other’s lives and are proud of the family we created.
We won’t be commenting further and sincerely hope that our privacy and that of our children will be respected at this time. With Love, Richard and Mindy.’
A source went on to tell The Sun: ‘Richard is very upset about all this. It seems he has tried hard to rekindle the relationship but to no avail.
‘There is no speculation that any third party is involved.’
Mindy and Richard bought the Grade II-listed Bollitree Castle in Herefordshire in 2008, and the estate boasts six bedrooms, a swimming pool and 20 acres of land.
Richard said: ‘And apparently she roared and screamed and swore at me “don’t you dare die”. And that’s when I turned back from this tree in my dream. And that’s when I woke’
Richard nearly lost his life when he was involved in a 320mph crash while filming a Top Gear stunt at York’s Elvington airfield back in 2006
He endured a second brush with death after his £2million Rimac supercar careered off a hill and burst into flames as he raced at high speed through rural Switzerland in 2017
It’s thought that newspaper columnist Mindy has asked to keep the £7million Bollitree Castle estate as part of their split settlement
It’s thought that the couple’s daughter Izzy still lives on the estate. She works alongside her dad at his garage and on their podcast Who We Are Now With Izzy And Richard Hammond.
The couple’s other daughter Willow, 22, reportedly lives separately in a rented home in Gloucestershire.
Richard married Mindy in 2002 after they first met back in 1995, with the presenter previously sharing that there was an instant attraction between them.
Writing in his book On The Edge: My Story, he said: ‘In an instant, I fell in love with her and realised I had met my soul-mate and best friend for life.’
In 2017, Mindy publicly warned her husband that he will have to quit TV if he crashes his car badly again – after he was involved in a second high-speed crash.
Richard was filming for his show The Grand Tour in Switzerland when the car he was driving crashed and repeatedly flipped over. It caught fire moments after he managed to escape it.
