May 19, 1980 saw Ringo Starr involved in a horrific car crash which nearly took the drummer and his wife Barbara Bach’s life. In eerie circumstances, the accident took place just half a mile away from the site of Marc Bolan’s fatal car crash just three years prior.
Bolan, who was also a close friend of Ringo Starr, made the coincidence even more bizarre. The former Beatle, so closely affiliated with the Bolan family, is even the godfather to his son, Rolan. Thankfully, however, Starr would not suffer the same fate but it could quite easily have been a completely different story.
The couple, who were were driving to a party in Surrey, attempted to navigate their way through the fog when the catastrophic incident would occur. As they approached a black-spot at the Robin Hood Roundabout on the A3, a terrifying collision which would completely write off Starr’s white Mercedes, Starr had to swerve, at 60 mph, to avoid hitting an oncoming lorry. His evasive action sent the couple on a fifty-yard somersaulting skid in the process which resulted in his supercar colliding head-on into two lampposts.
However, despite the leg injury that Ringo suffered, he heroically pulled Barbara safety. Removing her from the car, Starr then comically headed back into his wrecked car to retrieve a pack of cigarettes like a true rockstar. Both walked away from the crash, luckily, with only minor injuries.
The Mercedes was a total loss and written off. Following the accident, the couple had the wrecked car crushed into an artistic cube and converted it into a unique coffee table for their home, serving as a reminder of their lucky escape.
The near-fatal experience reportedly brought Starr and Bach closer together, and they married the following year.
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