Jim Tavare: deadly car accident, miraculous survival, and the show inspiration!
7 March 2017 was an extremely bad day for British actor and comedian, Jim Tavare. He was nearly killed in a head-on serious car crash. But he survived the crash to tell his tale.
Jim Tavare and his near-fatal car accident 2017
Life is unpredictable and one is left wondering about it. No one knows what is in store for us in the future. And neither did British actor-comedian, Jim Tavare.
In 2017 on 7 March, he had a serious car accident that landed him in the intensive care unit. Later, his wife wrote on his Facebook:
“This is Laura here. Now that his family have been informed, Jim has asked me to let you all know that he was involved in a serious car accident yesterday, a head-on collision,”
“He’s currently in ICU intensive care. He has 15 broken ribs, fractures in both breastbones, a punctured lung, multiple breaks in his right leg, and a broken neck.”
“He’s had two blood transfusions so far and is about to go in for his first surgery. This is for real, not a movie role. Please hold some good thoughts for him as he fights his way out of this.”
Jim suffered multiple injuries that included more than 30 fractures in which 15 were broken ribs and he had a broken neck. Additionally, his lungs were punctured and collapsed and his hand was detached from the wrist.
How the accident happened?
Jim was in Los Angeles and had gone out to purchase some chicken wire to make a chicken coop. And the Sat Nav showed him a faster route back home. He opted for it but found himself on the dangerous Angeles Crest Highway. On it, Jim explained:
“People have gone off the edge and they’ve found them four days later alive at the bottom,”
“It’s that kind of road.”
And at 2 pm, he had a head-on collision with a truck at a blind corner. Sadly, he was trapped in his car and the authorities had to cut the wreckage to free him. Fortunately, Jim’s dog who was with him was unhurt.
Immediately, Jim was air-lifted to nearby hospital and put under intensive care monitoring. Jim adds about his femur that had four breaks:
“It’s supposed to be the strongest bone in the body,”
“It can’t be that strong.”
Further, he continued:
“The neck was the thing they were worried about, but then that turned into a minor thing,”
His lung collapse was the critical thing. On it, he states:
“The thing that scares me is I’ve only got one lung effectively. It’s like an engine falling off an aeroplane. You can still get to the airport …”
Jim’s survival was a miracle. However, he was bedridden for nearly 18 months and went through intense physical and mental turmoil.
The start of idea of his show….
The thought to turn his experience into a show occured to him as he lay on the stretcher prior to the airlift. Jim recalls:
“I had this out-of-body moment looking down on myself from above and my bones were all sticking out and my arm was hanging off,”
“and I thought: ‘There’s definitely a show in this somewhere,”
And it was this thought that kept him going. He says:
“It saved my life doing this project,”
“It really did lift my spirits. If I hadn’t had [the idea of] the show I wouldn’t have had anything else.”
Moreover, he was on medical marijuana that helped him sleep adequately daily. And thus, his show From deadpan to bedpan came to life. Jim adds:
“I have the duty of service to make a project which is amusing but with poignancy. I’ve not had that before.”
Jim reinvented both physically and comedically. He accepts:
“Most definitely. I take life as a privilege, not a gimme for a start. I’m never bored. I’m very frustrated to not to be able to walk properly. It’s annoying having a restriction on your breathing but that’s the next thing to get used to.”
“This could happen to any of us. We’re all just trying not to have an accident every day.”
Short bio on Jim Tavare
Jim Tavare is a British actor and comedian and an accident survivor. More bio…