Freddie Flintoff reveals ‘I wished I’d been killed’ in horrifying Top Gear smash saying ‘I didn’t think I’d make it
FREDDIE Flintoff has revealed he wished he died after his horror Top Gear crash while filming the now-axed BBC hit.
The former Cricketer, 47, suffered severe facial injuries as a result of the smash, which occurred in 2022.
Freddie had been filming for a Top Gear episode at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey when his three-wheeled roadster flipped over.
He spent eight months recovering from the ordeal – and never left the house during that time, apart for medical appointments.
Ahead of his special Disney+ documentary, Freddie has revealed how he had wished he died in the smash during his most lowest point.
He said: “After the accident I didn’t think I had it in me to get through.
“This sounds awful: part of me wishes I’d been killed, part of me thinks I wish I’d died.
“I didn’t want to kill myself, I wouldn’t mistake the two things.
“But I was thinking: this would have been so much easier.”
Freddie also recounted the exact moment the crash occurred in chilling detail.
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He explained: “We were probably doing about 40 or 45. They were showing me how to get the car going sideways, and a wheel came off at the front.
“It’s a funny thing rolling a car because there’s the point of no return and everything slows down. It’s so weird.
“I think it was half an hour, 40 minutes just in agony until the air ambulance came. It was just: ‘This can’t be happening to me, it can’t be happening.’
“I remember everything about it. In some ways it would have been easier if I’d gone unconscious, and then been unconscious for a week or two and you wake up and all your stitches are out and everything.
“I think about it now, back in that car. It was a three wheeler with a reinforced windscreen, and a bar which was about half way up my back, so I’m exposed.”
Before his crash, Freddie presented Top Gear alongside Chris Harris and Paddy McGuinness from 2019 until 2022.
The Sun revealed in 2023 how the motoring show had been axed by the BBC following the accident.
It was half an hour, 40 minutes just in agony until the air ambulance came
Freddie Flintoff
We also revealed the open-topped Morgan Super 3 sports car Freddie was driving was not fitted with air bags.
A internal investigation into the channel’s health and safety practices was launched.
He also received a £9m payout from BBC Studios for the accident.
Freddie’s Disney+ film – produced by South Shore – will also look back at his incredible life and cricketing career that saw him win two Ashes series with England and become a national sporting hero.
Award-winning director John Dower was granted exclusive access to Freddie over the last year to film his recovery and document his cricketing career.
Flintoff will premiere on April 25 in the UK and Ireland.