Freddie Flintoff admits to wishing he had died in Top Gear crash
Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff has admitted that there were occasions when he wished he had died in the horrific 'Top Gear' crash that left him with serious facial injuries.
Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff has confessed there were moments when he wished he had died in his horrendous 'Top Gear' car crash.
The former England cricketer has opened up about the depression he felt following the 2022 accident that left him stuck in his living room for several months.
Speaking in the new Disney+ documentary 'Flintoff', Freddie said: "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 had died.' I didn't want to kill myself. I don't want to mistake the two things. But I was thinking, 'This would have been so much easier.'"
The documentary reveals the full details of the crash – in which Flintoff suffered severe facial injuries when he flipped a three-wheeled car when filming for 'Top Gear'' – and the star confessed that he thought he "was dead" in the immediate aftermath of the accident.
Freddie, 47, recalled: "I thought I was dead, because I was conscious but I couldn't see anything.
"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 over my eyes – so I pulled my hat up and I thought, no I'm not (dead), I'm on the 'Top Gear' track, this is not heaven."
Flintoff explained that his "biggest fear" was that he no longer had a face left after being dragged along the track during the crash.
The 'A League of Their Own' star said: "I thought my face had come off. I was frightened to death."
Freddie has vivid memories of the incident – which lead to the motoring show being 'rested' by the BBC in 2023 - and was grateful for his quick reactions that allowed him to move his head and avoid even more serious injuries.
He recalled: "As it started going over, I looked at the ground and I knew, if I get hit here on the side (of the head) then I'll break my neck, or if I get hit on the temple I'm dead. The best chance is to go face down.
"And then I remember hitting (the ground) and my head got hit. But then I got dragged out, and the car went over, and I went over the back of the car, and then (I got) pulled face down on the runway about 50m underneath the car. And then I hit the grass and then (it) flipped back."
