Sir Richard Branson ‘thought he was going to die’ when he went flying head-first off his bike on the Caribbean island of Virgin Gorda.
The Virgin Atlantic boss said his life was ‘literally flashing before my eyes’ as he hit a soeed bump in the road, in the dark, and was hurled over the handlebars.
Branson, aged 66, was training for the Virgin Strive Challenge with his daughter Holly and son Sam when the accident happened.
"I really thought I was going to die," he said in his blog.
"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."
He was taken to Miami for x-rays and scans and was told he had a cracked cheek and some torn ligaments.
"My biggest hardship is having to drink tea out of a straw," he said. "Oh, and being called elephant man by a six year old!"
The accident happened on the fifth anniversary of a fire which destroyed Branson’s home on Necker Island.
The Virgin Strive Challenge involves travelling by foot, bike, and water from the base of the Matterhorn in the Alps to the summit of Mount Etna in Sicily to raise over £5.1 million for a young people’s charity, Big Change.
