Sir Richard Branson feared he would die after a high-speed cycle crash in the Virgin Isles
ENTREPRENEUR SIR Richard Branson said he thought he was going to die after coming off his bicycle in a high-speed crash.
The 66-year-old Virgin founder was left bloodied and suffered a cracked cheek, torn ligaments and severe cuts. The accident happened on Virgin Gorda, one of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, on Monday.
Sir Richard said: “I was heading down a hill towards Leverick Bay when it suddenly got really dark and I managed to hit a sleeping policeman hump in the road head on.
“The next thing I knew, I was being hurled over the handlebars and my life was literally flashing before my eyes. I really thought I was going to die. I went flying head-first towards the concrete road, but fortunately my shoulder and cheek took the brunt of the impact, and I was wearing a helmet that saved my life.
“My bike went flying off the cliff and disappeared. We’ve since recovered the crumpled bicycle, completely destroyed. My cheek has been badly damaged and my knee, chin, shoulder and body severely cut.”
Sir Richard said his assistant, Helen, was first on the scene as he was “lying prostrate on the road” and then another member of his team, George, “sprinted from the bottom of the hill” to assist.
He travelled to Miami, USA for X-rays and scans, and described himself as “extremely fortunate” to have avoided more serious injuries.
“My biggest hardship is having to drink tea out of a straw,” he said.
He was cycling with his children Holly and Sam in training for September’s Virgin Strive Challenge in which a group of people will hike, cycle, swim and run from the base of the Matterhorn in the Alps to the summit of Mount Etna in Sicily.
Sir Richard still hopes to take part in the event, which will raise £1.5m to support projects to give young people the “necessary tools they need to thrive in life”.
The crash happened the day before CCTV images were released through Sir Richard’s Twitter account showing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn walking past empty unreserved train seats.