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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
Alana Anderson

Former Top Gear star James May hospitalised after crashing into wall at 75mph in stunt gone wrong

TV star James May has been rushed to hospital after a car crash stunt reportedly went wrong.

The former Top Gear star, 59, is said to have broken a rib and needed a brain scan before getting the all-clear.

It’s believed James had been filming with his Grand Tour co-stars Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond at the time of the accident.

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A TV source told The Sun: "It looked extremely worrying at first.

"Jeremy and Richard were concerned about their mate and the paramedics swooped in quickly.

"As ever on a shoot of this scale, medical staff are waiting in the wings in case — as they did here — things go horribly wrong."

The publication reports that James had been filming a “drag-style race” for the hit Amazon Prime show when the accident took place.

James had to 'abandon' filming while his pals continued the trip (Collect)

The trio had been using a naval base tunnel for the stunt, which reportedly involved the lights only turning on as the cars sped past, giving three seconds to react.

James is believed to have been travelling at 75mph when his vehicle jackknifed into the wall.

It's not the first time an accident has taken place on set, after Richard Hammond's devastating crash back in 2017.

Richard was airlifted to hospital in Switzerland during filming for The Grand Tour, after a 120mph crash.

James was understood to be filming a challenge with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond before the stunt went wrong (Collect)

He was attending a car race in St Gallen, Switzerland, when he suffered the crash which left him wheelchair-bound.

Hammond, who was previously in a dangerous car crash in 2006, was treated in hospital for his injuries and later resorted to using a wheelchair as he was left with a fractured knee.

A statement on The Grand Tour's Twitter account at the time read: "Richard Hammond was involved in a serious crash after completing the Hemburg Hill Climb in Switzerland in a Rimac Concept One, an electric super car built in Croatia, during filming for The Grand Tour Season 2 on Amazon Prime, but very fortunately suffered no serious injury.

"Richard was conscious and talking, and climbed out of the car himself before the vehicle burst into flames."

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