owner of the car is partly blaming the hamster...
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The owner of the jet car in which Richard Hammond was nearly killed has suggested the Top Gear presenter was partly to blame for the crash. Dramatic of the 288 mph crash has just been screened for the first time.
It clearly showed the car's right front tyre shredded after a blowout as Hammond tore down an airfield runway.
He appeared to lose control of the Vampire dragster, which veered off the runway on to the grass before overturning.
In The Sun newspaper, Colin Fallows implied Hammond was to some extent responsible by "failing to adhere to the briefing".
He said: "Mr Hammond had a puncture and carried on with the tyre deflated", adding he "stood on the brakes" after the blowout.
Mr Fallows added: "Once these cars are in motion you don't touch the brakes. You stay on the prescribed line and should always be aware of the unexpected.
"By failing to adhere to the briefing, what would have been a controllable incident ended in a major accident."
The crash occured while 36-year-old Hammond was filming a stunt at Elvington airfield in York last September.
He suffered brain injuries and there were fears he would not survive. He says he has no memory of the accident.
Hammond, nicknamed Hamster, watched it on last night's edition of Top Gear with co-presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May.
The father-of-two was asked by Clarkson why he had attempted a final run after reaching speeds of 314mph - the fastest anyone has ever travelled on land in Britain.
Hammond said: "I dunno. That run we just watched was at about five o'clock and we had the runway until 5.30pm.
"I suppose it's like when you were playing outside as a kid and then your mum called you in for dinner. You'd always stay out for a bit longer..."
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