BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Nihal Arthanayake was left fearing for his and his family’s life after suffering a “terrifying” motorway accident and was left “gripping” the wheel to save the car from flipping.
Arthanayake joined the BBC in 2002 for programmes on Radio 1, before moving up to the weekend breakfast show in 2007 and a daily phone-in on Asian Network.
Revealing his reason for leaving, Arthanayake said: “I’ve got a second book to write and I need some time and space, and do some other things that I’ve always wanted to do.”
However, just two days before his last day (Thursday, July 27), Arthanayake and his family were involved in a motorway accident, after his car clipped with another which had been hit by a HGV.
Luckily Arthanayake and his family managed to escape unscathed from the crash site, and no one else was hurt in the event.
Arthanayake spoke about the incident on his X account and told his followers: “Two hours ago a lorry hit a car which hit me on the M60. I clung onto that steering wheel for dear life to try and keep the car steady and not hit the central reservation. Wife next to me and son in the back. Terrifying.”
The post was accompanied by an image of the car which showed the rear left wing of Arthanayake’s car hanging off, with a substantial dent just above the wheel arch.
He also added a post to his Instagram account with another view of the care, alongside a caption which read: “Well, this just happened.
“As I passed the lorry in the middle lane unbeknownst to me that same lorry had hit a car in front of it which came sliding sideways across the middle lane and hit me on the back passenger door and ripped off a side of the car over the back wheel.
“I struggled to take control trying to prevent my car spinning out of control and hitting the central reservation. As I held on to the steering wheel for dear life trying to steady my car all I could think about was my wife sitting next to me and my son in the back of the car and making sure my car did not spin out of control. The driver of the car that hit me is lucky to be alive.
Nihal Arthanayake was in the car with his wife and son
INSTAGRAM
“As I think we all are too. Not sure why I am telling you all this from the side of the M60. My wife is talking to the police. I have never been involved in a car crash before. No serious harm done as far as we can tell. Most likely in shock.
“Perhaps that’s why I am posting this, as a way of processing it myself. F**k.”
Arthanayake was flooded with messages of support, leaving one to comment: “Glad you’re all ok. Obviously no idea about how or why this happened but the impact on everyone, even the lorry driver could be huge.
“The difference being the lorry driver will be expected to just crack on with the job. Maybe something for a show???”
Nihal Arthanayake recently hosted his last show on 5 Live
BBC
Arthanayake replied: “That is a really good point. Spoke to the recovery driver about this.”
Another fan added: “I hope you are all okay, and the other occupants in the other vehicles,” to which the Radio Host said: “Everyone walked away from the crash Brian. Thankfully.”
A third concerned user said: “Thank God you had the presence of mind to keep hold of the steering wheel and try to control the car. It’s like slow motion when these things happen. Time slows down. So glad your family were unharmed.”
The 53-year-old gave an update a few hours after the incident and said: “Thank you so much for all your kind messages. Mrs A has a sore neck and back. I am physically ok but not sure about my mind.
“Woke up before 6am this morning with a different version of the car crash we were involved in yesterday. I am driving to Glastonbury on Friday. Very carefully. I need music, joy and creativity around me. And NO politics.”
Today he gave another update and said: “Sorting out the insurance is proving to be an utter nightmare. I thought I was calling @AdmiralUK but on the side of the road, I was passed to some company called Blackthorn who have passed me onto another company called Kindertons Accident Management. Baffling.”
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