Andrew Flintoff ‘concept he had died’ in Top Gear crash

Andrew Flintoff has given his first account of the auto crash he was once in whilst filming Top Gear, announcing he concept he “was dead” within the instant aftermath.

The England cricketer-turned-TV presenter sustained critical facial and rib accidents when the three-wheeler automobile he was once riding for the BBC motoring programme rolled over in 2022.

Speaking in a brand new Disney+ documentary, ‘Freddie’ Flintoff stated that regardless of the trauma, he “remembers everything about it”.

“I thought I was dead, because I was conscious but I couldn’t see anything,” he recalled.

“I was thinking, is that it? Is that it? You know what I mean? Just black for the rest of my days?

“My hat came visiting my eyes – so I pulled my hat up and I assumed, no I’m now not [dead], I’m at the Top Gear observe, this isn’t heaven.”

Flintoff then looked down to see blood, and said his “largest concern” was that he no longer had a face left.

“I assumed my face had come off. I used to be nervous to dying.”

He recalled being in “agony” for between half an hour and 40 minutes until an air ambulance arrived and he was taken to hospital.

The incident took place on 13 December 2022 at Top Gear’s test track at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey.

He was driving an open-topped Morgan Super 3 when it flipped and slid, dragging him along the track during filming.

Surgeon Jahrad Haq, who handled Flintoff, advised the documentary the wounds had been “very complex” – a mix of onerous and cushy tissue accidents, damaged enamel, misplaced enamel and components of the higher jaw bone that had been additionally fractured and displaced.

He “lost a really significant portion of his upper lip – the skin and some of the underlying muscle – and also his lower lip,” he stated.

Mr Haq stated the wounds had been within the “top five” when it comes to severity of the ones he had noticed throughout his occupation.

Reflecting at the restoration, Flintoff stated he “didn’t think I had it in me to get through” the ordeal.

“This sounds awful. Part of me wishes I’d been killed. Part of me thinks I wish I’d died,” he added.

“I didn’t want to kill myself. I don’t want to mistake the two things. I was not wishing, but thinking, this would have been so much easier…

“Now I attempt to take the angle, you understand what, the solar will arise the next day, after which my children will nonetheless give me a hug, and I’m most likely in a greater position now.”

One of England’s most successful cricketers, Flintoff previously said he is “loving” his return to the sport coaching England Lions – the development squad underneath England Men’s cricket team.

Flintoff’s wife Rachael told the documentary his return to the sport was crucial on the road to recovery.

“When Andrew wanted it maximum, cricket was once there for him,” she said. “It sounds a bit of bizarre announcing it, a bit of excessive to mention, however I do suppose cricket stored him. It gave him a reason why for being, once more.”

The 47-year-old also returned to television last year with a second series of his BBC programme Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams, which saw him take a team of young cricketers from his hometown of Preston on a tour of India, a year after his crash.

The acclaimed series is up for a Bafta Television Award in the factual series category next month.

He also hosted a reboot of darts game show Bullseye over Christmas, which will return for a full series later this year.

In 2023, the BBC “rested” Top Gear for the foreseeable future. A financial settlement was also reached with Flintoff.

The documentary, titled Flintoff, is on Disney+ from Friday, 25 April.