ANDREW Flintoff has revealed the “split-second decision” that he believes saved his life during his horror Top Gear crash.
The England cricket legend turned TV personality – known as Freddie – has admitted he was “prepared to lose my arm” during the terrifying accident.
Times Media LtdAndrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has revealed the split second decision that saved his life[/caption]
Pixel8000He was left needing facial reconstructive surgery[/caption]
DISNEY+The Top Gear crash was shown for the first time on the Disney+ documentary Flintoff earlier this year[/caption]
The dad-of-four, 47, was airlifted to hospital after the open-top Morgan Super 3 car he was driving for a segment of the BBC show flipped leaving him with devastating injuries.
Freddie is continuing his long road to recovery, having been left with life-changing facial injuries that required reconstructive surgery.
In a column for The Times he described the “split-second decision-making” he’d come accustomed to in his cricketing days, which came into play during the crash.
“Suddenly the car was rolling and the world was all slow-motion chaos,” he wrote.
Freddie said he knew “exactly what was coming” – his options were stick out his arm and “lose it” or if he didn’t brace he’d break his neck.
“I shut my eyes and flung up my left arm, with the thinking being that as a right-hander, I was prepared to lose my left,” he wrote.
Freddie went onto describe how the car “dragged me” for 50 metres “face skidding, body flipping” but fortunately he was alive.
“In that instant, my mind, honed on cricket’s demands, made the right call. A split-second decision. One that saved my life, and changed it.”
In April this year the star opened up about his injuries and revealed that he felt the BBC had treated him like a “piece of meat”.
He said he felt that the show’s producers continually upped the stakes in the programme’s stunts.
In Disney+ documentary Flintoff, he said: “That is the danger that TV falls into — and I found out the hard way, eventually.”
“Everybody wants more, everybody wants that thing that nobody has seen before, everyone wants that bigger stunt.
“In some ways it’s, ‘Let’s have that near miss, because then that’ll get viewers’.
“Everything is about viewers. Always, always.
“And I should have been cleverer on this, because I learnt this in sport as well … and was just treated like a piece of meat.
“That’s TV and sport, I think that’s where they’re quite similar. You’re just a commodity, a piece of meat.”
In March 2023, The Sun revealed the open-topped Morgan Super 3 sports car Freddie was driving was not fitted with airbags.
That same month the BBC announced that series 34 of Top Gear would be scrapped following Freddie’s accident.
They said it would be “inappropriate” to continue while he is still recovering.
Meanwhile, Freddie was forced to suspend all work while he focused on getting better.
He later revealed that the incident led to him to becoming a social recluse, as he struggled with his mental health.
The star revealed he was positive about his recovery, saying: “I genuinely should not be here after what happened.
“It’s going to be a long road back and I’ve only just started.
“I’ve got to look at the positives, I’ve got another chance, and I’m going to go at it. I’m seeing that as how it is — a second go.”
The star was supported by his wife Rachael Woods and their four children Holly, Corey, Rocky and Preston.
Fellow Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond — who also experienced a horrific crash while filming the show — wished Freddie the “very best” in his recovery.
Richard had raced off the track at 288mph while driving a jet car and miraculously survived in 2006.
Steve McDonald PhotographyFlintoff on a jet trike which careered off the road during a different incident at the Elvington Airfield near York[/caption]
GettyFlintoff attends the London Premiere for Disney+ original documentary Flintoff in April[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
