Richard Hammond leaves fans horrified by getting back in the car that almost killed him

express.co.uk:

The Grand Tour presenter has suffered numerous crashes over the years, but the Vampire Dragster accident is considered the worst.On the 20th of September 2006, Richard was seriously injured while filming an episode of Top Gear at the former RAF Elvington airfield near York.He was driving the Vampire, a jet-powered car, which was said to be capable of travelling up to 370mph, but his front-right tyre failed unexpectedly and caused it to lose control before rolling over to its demise.At the point of blow out, Richard was travelling at 288mph but upon initial impact had slowed to 232mph, mainly as a result of the roll cage digging into the ground and the top his helmet being dragged across the surface.It has been speculated that if he was any taller, he would have been decapitated.As rescuers turned the car upright and cut an unconscious Richard free, he was put in a neck brace and placed on a stretcher before the air ambulance arrived.A post shared by Richard Hammond (@richardhammond)Doctors treating him announced that he had a "significant brain injury" following the crash.After he almost died in the wreckage, Richard vowed to never get back in a dragster...

until now.The motoring fanatic couldn't help himself as he geared up to drive the rebuilt Vampire for an episode of DriveTribe.In the episode, Richard could be seen visibly shaken as he approached the vehicle for the first time since the horror accident, 15 years ago."Oh, this is...

yeah..." he stammered, as news reports of the crash began to play."Hello again... you look in better shape the last time I saw you anyway."As he stepped into the car, he said: "Well, here goes...