London, Aug. 26, 2016 – Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Atlantic, Mr. Richard Branson narrowly escaped today when he crashed his bike on a cliff during a training cycle with his two children at British Virgin Gorda Island.
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.”
“Genuinely, I thought I was going to die, as I fell head first and bike disappeared off cliff. I am lucky, thanks for all your well wishers”, he said on Instagram.
“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,” he said.
“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. As I landed, once I realized I was alive, I began testing my movement. I really couldn’t believe I was alive, let alone not paralyzed”, he said, adding that the first person to arrive on the scene was his assistant Helen, who had just returned from holiday.
“She was wondering who was lying prostrate on the road. I was so glad to be alive that I quickly was able to summon my sense of humor, and said to her: ‘I’m alive! At least you’ve still got a job!”, he said.
He was later rushed to Miami for X-rays and scans where it was revealed he had suffered a cracked cheek and some torn ligaments.
“I hopefully will be able to complete the Virgin Strive Challenge next month. My biggest hardship is having to drink tea out of a straw. Oh, and being called elephant man by a six year old!” he said.
“My attitude has always been, if you fall flat on your face, at least you’re moving forward. All you have to do is get back up and try again. At least I’m practicing what I preach – though a little too literally!
“The date of the accident just happened to be the fifth anniversary of the fire on Necker Island. What a way to mark it! Thankfully, good fortune has smiled on me so far.
“It has been quite a year. I’ve been in the wars knocking my teeth out playing tennis not once but twice, and also being kissed by a ray and running into a bullet proof door,” he said.
