Richard Branson reveals bloodied pics after nasty injuries in horror crash as Virgin tycoon admits he was ‘very lucky’
The billionaire has counted 76 near-death experiences in his life
DAREDEVIL billionaire Richard Branson has been left with shocking injuries after a horror bike smash.
The entrepreneur flew off his bike after hitting a pothole in Virgin Gorda.
The Virgin founder said he had to be treated for severe cuts on his elbow, an hematoma on his hip.
Branson posted a photo of himself after the crash on Instagram.
He wrote: “Took quite a big tumble while cycling in Virgin Gorda a little while ago!
“I hit a pothole and crashed hard, resulting in another hematoma on my hip and a nasty cut elbow, but amazingly nothing broken.
“We were cycling with Alex Wilson, who fell after me, but thankfully he was ok as well.
“I’m counting myself very lucky, and thankful for keeping myself active and healthy.
“After all, the brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all!”
It’s not the the first bike crash Branson has been involved in on the Virgin Islands.
In 2018 he feared he had broken his back after flying off his bike during an endurance charity race.
It comes after in 2016, Sir Richard said he feared he would die after smashing head-first onto the road during a high speed bike crash.
He was on a training cycle run with his two grown-up children on the British Virgin Islands when disaster struck.
The accident-prone Virgin boss – who had escaped a run in with a deadly stingray just a few months before the 2016 crash – said he genuinely thought he’d finally run out of lives.
He revealed: “I went cycling on Virgin Gorda with Holly and Sam as part of my training for the Virgin Strive Challenge.
“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.”
After the crash Richard was rushed to Miami for X-rays and scans where it was revealed he had suffered a cracked cheek and some torn ligaments.
NEAR MISSES
The billionaire has counted 76 near-death experiences in his life, starting in 1972 when a fishing boat sunk on his honeymoon with his first wife.
According to his biography, he crash-landed in a field in 1976 after he accidently took off in a microlight aircraft and “had no idea” how to fly it.
And in 1984, the engine exploded on the first Virgin Atlantic test flight.
When he was skydiving in 1986, he pulled the wrong cord by mistake and was falling through the air before the instructor managed to yank the spare cord and save his life.
Sir Richard has also had near misses with hot air balloons, wing-walking on a Virgin Atlantic plane, and jumping off Palms Casino in Las Vegas.
