Have you ever hit (or nearly hit) anyone famous?
Have you ever hit (or nearly hit) anyone famous?
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Ray Luxury-Yacht

Original Poster:

8,918 posts

236 months

Friday 29th June 2012
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And looking back, if the accident HAD happened, would have ended or hampered the career of someone unbelievably famous and made national news?

I say this because of a story one of my old bosses told me.

One night, he was driving through London, and the traffic was bad. He dived off down some random side street, and because of a bit of annoyance and irritation about the traffic and being late for his appointment, was driving at his own admission 'probably a bit too fast for the road.'

This back street was one of those narrow London roads, wide enough for just one vehicle, with rear exits and rubbish bins along it - behind some West End Bars and restaurants.

Anyway, fairly suddenly, a door swings open in front of him from one of the bars along the side, and out spills / stumbles a bloke, dragging a woman behind him by her hand. They were both obviously quite drunk, and basically came right out into the road in front of my mate. There was nowhere to swerve, and luckily he was paying attention, saw them immediately, hit the brakes as hard as possible, and ended up hitting the bloke fairly gently - enough to make him fall over the front of the bonnet, but without injury.

The bloke pushes himself up off the bonnet, and looks up into the car at my boss. He then stood, up, grinned, waved it away like it wasn't a problem, and stumbled off back to the side to let my boss carry on past.


The bloke?

George Best!





1a35

837 posts

228 months

Friday 29th June 2012
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I failed to run over Michael Hesseltine when he and some colleagues walked in front of me in Tynemouth in the 1980s

Ray Luxury-Yacht

Original Poster:

8,918 posts

236 months

Friday 29th June 2012
quotequote all
1a35 said:
I failed to run over Michael Hesseltine when he and some colleagues walked in front of me in Tynemouth in the 1980s
Ooh, a missed opportunity!


Backtobasics

1,182 posts

203 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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My dad nearly knocked Sterling Moss into the quayside in Monte Carlo many many years ago.

Justin Cyder

12,624 posts

169 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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I almost had a head on with Prince Phillip on a country lane in Sussex a few years ago. The detectives in the rangey didn't look happy. Pal of mine rear ended a Jag belonging to the Queen around the same time. Her madge wasn't in it.

StuartGGray

7,703 posts

248 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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I ran a BeeGee over with a cargo ship.

It was in a pool in the KL Hilton, I was a kid with a model cargo ship that could go faster than I could swim.

4keymonsta

11,488 posts

168 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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I nearly hit Mick Hucknall of Simply Red round the head with the wing mirror on a 7.5 tonne lorry in west London.

FourWheelDrift

91,559 posts

304 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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I was walking along the south embankment from Tower Bridge to Hays Galleria about 10 years ago and I spotted Ken Livingstone walking towards me, I nearly hit him. But there were too many possible witnesses.

Blib

46,867 posts

217 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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Years ago, I was in Hampstead looking for a parking place. I spied one on the slip road heading up to the pond from the Station.

It's a quiet, minor road and a good central place to park. Anyhow, I lined myself up to reverse in and started the manouvre. As I did so, Ron & Russel Mael out of Sparks wandered into the parking place, chatting. They hadn't noticed me. Probably because they were foreign and stuff. I could have squashed them. However, even then, I was a superb driver and I managed to halt in time. *

* Sparks were very big at the time, having just released "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us" **

** It was a long time ago. Look 'em up in Wikipedia.

Pontoneer

3,643 posts

206 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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No need - still have the album 'Kimono My House' and remember them well .

JONSCZ

1,203 posts

257 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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StuartGGray said:
I ran a BeeGee over with a cargo ship.
In a slight twist to your story Stuart, I have been 'run over' by a BeeGee.....!
Happened a few years ago when Maurice Gibb died and I was filming Barry Gibb's car leaving a TV studio where he'd just done an interview. (I'm a TV news cameraman)
The car came through the gates and ran over my foot as I was alongside - my shoes had the tyre mark on! Properly hurt...!

mike9009

9,264 posts

263 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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My mum bumped into Arthur Negus in late 1973. My mum was driving her mini and he was most annoyed until she struggled out the car pregnant (with me!)

Probably no one remembers arthur negus now, but for the youngsters on here he wasnt very famous in 1973 either!

......the question was asked!

Mike

steveT350C

6,728 posts

181 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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Had one of those 50:50 situations when pelican crossing lights have been on yellow a bit too long...

I made the decision to continue, as did Denis Wise of Chelsea FC.

Both my Tiv and Denis are quite small so no issue!

silvagod

1,076 posts

180 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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Out doing a recce for the RAC in (I think) 1994 and came round a corner in one of the Kielder forests and almost ran into the back of another recce car.

Managed to mount the banking and avoid it.

Got out to bk the tool that had stopped. It was Derek Warwick. Still gave him a mouthful! Told him to 'stick to tarmac'

Motown Junk

2,041 posts

237 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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Beeped Rick Parfitt at bottom of Streatham High Road once when he cut me up.

Glad the Quo didn't use language like that on their popular ditties smile

speedtwelve

3,533 posts

293 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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Pulled out into the (usually completely deserted with added tumbleweed) road running past the cargo terminal round the back of Edinburgh airport in the 90s only to find a police motorcade coming at me head-on. Got out of the way with police outriders getting in a strop; Daimler went past with Prince Chuck in the back en-route to his Queen's Flight 146. Thankfully he'd given-up flying them by this point, so the destination airfield was safe.

rohrl

8,984 posts

165 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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John Virgo very nearly killed my parents. He fell asleep at the wheel on the M4 and crashed his Volvo into the central reservation. His front wheel came off and hit the car in front of my parents, who were on the opposite carriageway, and part of Virgo's suspension went through their windscreen, between their heads then hit the rear seat and bounced back into the rear of the drivers seat with enough force to wrench my father's shoulder.

Virgo got done for DWDCA I think. It was on a Boxing Day and he was heading to Cardiff to appear in a pantotime as I remember.

Pistom

6,138 posts

179 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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I nearly got hit by a Merc in Paris a few years ago but it swerved and hit the tunnel support. I guessed it was someone important judging by the bikes that were chasing it with cameras flashing but I never did find out who it was.

They would have been alright with airbags and seatbelts so I didn't stay around. wink




manic47

737 posts

185 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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I came within about a foot of launching Stephen Hawking into the sky one night in Cambridge.
That's the closest I've ever come to hitting anyone/thing in my car.

Genelec

525 posts

167 months

Saturday 30th June 2012
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4keymonsta said:
I nearly hit Mick Hucknall of Simply Red round the head with the wing mirror on a 7.5 tonne lorry in west London.
Were you actually driving at the time or did you just see him and have the urge to rip the wing mirror off a truck and beat him with it?