Usain Bolt Survives Car Crash with Light Injuries

Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt was involved in a serious car crash on Wednesday, but he was soon released from the hospital, with minor scratches. The 22-year-old world record sprinter was apparently speeding on the outskirts of Kingston, the Caribbean island’s capital, when he lost control of his BMW M3 and plowed into a ditch.

Bolt injured his left foot as he stepped out of the car along with his brother and a female passenger. They were taken to a hospital near Kingston, but were released later that day, after the tests showed neither was seriously injured, as reported by the guardian.co.uk.

The BMW was a present given to the athlete by his sponsor, Puma, after his performances at the Beijing Olympics. Bolt attended a specialist BMW M driving school in Germany last year to learn how to handle the sports car.

The M3 has a BMW S65 V8 engine, delivering 309 kW and around 295 lb-ft of torque. It has a standard 6-speed manual transmission and an optional Double Clutch Transmission which improved its 0-60 mph performance by approximately 0.2 seconds.

Usain Bolt won the 100 and 200 meters at the Beijing Olympics and was part of the Jamaica team that won the 4x100 relay. All three gold medals were earned in world-record times.

The athlete is supposed to run a 150-meter street race in Manchester on May 17, 2009, but is still under strict supervision to see if he will be able to attend the competition.

"We are keeping a close watch on Usain and will update the public as necessary," said Bolt’s manager, Norman Peart.  "We also want to use the opportunity to thank the public for all the calls of concern and the show of affection for Usain."