George Clooney hospitalized after motorbike accident
Actor hit by car while riding motorbike on way to film set on the island of Sardinia in Italy. Clooney's injuries were not believed to be serious.
Following his horrifying crash last summer, George Clooney said in an interview this week that he's done with motorcycles for good.
“I was very lucky to pull out of that one. That officially got me off motorbikes after 40 years, which is unfortunate,” Clooney, during an interview on ITV’s "This Morning," said, per The Sun.
Clooney, 58, was tossed over the top of his motorbike while riding on a highway in Italy last summer. The star was traveling at a high speed when another car unexpectedly pulled in front of him to make a turn. The ensuing collision sent Clooney flying roughly 20 feet in the air and required a visit to a hospital in Olbia.
Oscar-winning producer Grant Heslov, who was also present during the ITV interview and when the motorcycle accident occurred, added that the crash was “much worse than the press understood.”
“He was behind me and we came up over a hill and I see a guy who I thought was going to turn, locked eyes and then he went,” Heslov said. “He just missed me and I heard this ka-boom. I thought, ‘Oh my God. George is dead.''' I was holding him and I said to myself, ‘If he lives, I’ll never ride a motorcycle again.'”
Clooney also admitted in the interview that his wife, Amal, has forbidden him from riding a motorcycle ever again.
"It was one of those conversations coming back from the hospital and she said, 'That's it.' And I was sort of thinking, 'Maybe I could still get away with it.' And then my buddy, who was in the accident with me, Grant [Heslov], said, 'Yeah, I'm off,’” said Clooney.
“There was nothing I could do, I was ganged up on,” he added jokingly.
The “Catch 22” star previously revealed that the incident made him quit riding motorcycles for good, which he elaborated on during a conversation with “The Hollywood Reporter’s First Look" in May.
GEORGE CLOONEY SAYS WIFE AMAL HAS FORBIDDEN HIM FROM RIDING MOTORCYCLES AFTER CRASH IN ITALY
“I had to quit. I hit him at 70 miles an hour,” he said. “I split my helmet in half, it knocked me out of my shoes.... It hit hard. It was bad, I was just waiting for the switch to turn off. I broke his windshield with my head. And I thought, ‘OK, well, that’s my neck.’”
Fortunately, Clooney was released from the hospital very shortly after being admitted, as his injuries were minor. He revealed that the accident didn't even stall production on his new series. He claimed to be back at work just four days after the near-fatal crash.
“If you get nine lives, I’ve got all of them used up," Clooney added at the time.
Fox News' Tyler McCarthy contributed to this report.