Hammond Critical - Top Gear Car Crash!

Apparently he has a black eye but no other visible injuries :confused: I just don't see how he could have got a black eye whilst presumably wearing a helmet with the visor down? Unless a black eye is indicative of brain trauma or something?
 
NathanE said:
Apparently he has a black eye but no other visible injuries :confused: I just don't see how he could have got a black eye whilst presumably wearing a helmet with the visor down? Unless a black eye is indicative of brain trauma or something?
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Could be due to the brain swelling?

I wouldn't have thought a helmet would give a black eye. :S
 
NathanE said:
Apparently he has a black eye but no other visible injuries :confused: I just don't see how he could have got a black eye whilst presumably wearing a helmet with the visor down? Unless a black eye is indicative of brain trauma or something?
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May have been an open faced helmet like the one he was wearing in the tomcat - I.e. for filming purposes. Which I guess might have caused more pressure around the eye than a normal helmet would.
 
A black eye is really just a bruise, which is made from small vessels that rupture.

This could be caused by severe deceleration or by induced "G" when the car rolled or even a big bump to the helmet.
 
dokko said:
Found a canny funny TG comic strip style peice about the accident (or rescue) i found it funny, but i could see some may think its bad taste, so i'll wait until we get the nod he's gonna be ok before posting it.
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I know the one you mean - the sentiments are nice, but you're probably right not to posts it, someone will only take it the wrong way and cause a riot.

As for the speed he crashed at - there was no evidence at all regarding this at first, and what seems to have happened is that there were lots of speculative reports - the SCUM was first, funnily enough with their '300mph crash' and the rest followed. From the info that was available at the time I can only assume that they took the theoretical speed of the car (up to 370mph) i believe, and the 300.3mph reportedly reached on the run before, and have reported the speed that the accident took place from there.

However today's reports show that he supposedly accelerated to 280mph in 6 seconds, so who knows?

As for the 'reasonably optimistic of a good recovery' the 'good' not 'full' worries me slightly, but lets be honest, they are always going to err on the side of caution. If they say he'll make a full recovery and he doesn't, the damage is far worse then if they say he won't make a full recovery and then he does. Also it is very, very early days yet. With any brain injury complications can set in within the first couple of days/weeks, so it's best for them to play it down rather than raise hopes just in case anything bad happens.
 
kitten_caboodle said:
As for the 'reasonably optimistic of a good recovery' the 'good' not 'full' worries me slightly.
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Thats exactly what worried me, usually doctors say "full recovery"

He's been moved out of intensive care now though so its looking good
 
penski said:
Rapid deacceleration causes an increase of pressure in the eyes. :)

*n
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Causes a lot of pressure everywhere, your eyes move in their sockets and I dont imagine you have to hit anything but yourself as you decelerate but your eye balls do not, hence the black eyes.
Same happens with internal organs on the inside of the rib cage, etc He probably was wearing a five point harness to help distribute those forces
 
oxygene said:
sounds like a full recovery is imminent then. Just a couple of days observation
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When it comes to brain injury, things can quickly turn around. Just keep praying for his to fully recover and hope to see him back with Top Gear and lot.
 
InwardSinging said:
It really is amazing that he didnt break any bones, i know the car is designed to protect him, but still, at that speed, i find it quite staggering.
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You require an impact to fracture, no?

If you're strapped in to the vehicle, inside a safety cell, there's nothing really to hit.

Rather than a 5-point harness as noted by silversurfer, he would more than likely have a 6-point, 3" or 4" harness with helmet restraints (both HANS-style and a chin-strap to prevent your head snapping backwards on rapid acceleration) and arm restraints ensuring that your arms don't flail around.

Such provisions are par for the course in top fuel; one would imagine that the builders would provide similar.

*n
 
Excellent news!

Long way to go yet I suspect, but being out of ITU is superb!

On a side note, my missus is a nurse in ITU and she said that often trauma to the brain can seem far worse than it is, with patients seemingly being in a bad way until the swelling goes down. Often they return to normal quite quickly.

Get well soon Hamster!
 
Glad to see he's doing alright now and has been downgraded from serious but stable to stable and in a high dependancy unit.
JC apparently said to him 'the reason you're in here is coz your a crap driver' which brought a smile to RH's face :D
 
penski said:
Just announced on ITV:

He's out of intensive care and doing well.

:D

*n
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Yeah great news heard it on the radio, said he'd been moved and his condition downgraded to just stable, get well soon the hamster, wonder if those teeth are still white. :D
 
Excellent news! :D Hopefully his brain shouldn't be damaged, as if it was, he presumably would still be in intensive care. :)
 
kitten_caboodle said:
I know the one you mean - the sentiments are nice, but you're probably right not to posts it, someone will only take it the wrong way and cause a riot.
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I wonder if i can post my link yet?

:D
 
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