Ozzy’s ATV Accident

On the 8th December 2003, Ozzy Osbourne found himself in a near fatal accident when in England, after crashing an ATV while driving it at his estate.

Ozzy and his daughter Kelly had gone to the UK for an appearance on Top of the Pops with the single Changes. While there, the two make their appearance and temporarily live in one of the Osbournes’ UK Estates. Kelly had also brought her then-boyfriend Rob over and the two began having spats and tensions arose between them. Ozzy and Kelly had the occasional arguments too but this was quickly resolved. As an effort to cheer Kelly up, Ozzy offered for her to join him on some of the family owned ATVs and drive all over the fields which at first Kelly joins him but eventually leaves Ozzy be. Ozzy would frequently play around with these ATVs and would drive quickly around the fields for presumably an hour or two.

Worth noting is that during the production of The Osbournes, Ozzy was still on drugs and alcohol and prior to this incident, he had been overprescribed anti-psychotic and tranquilising drugs as well as taking over 42 pills a day^[1].

The Accident

On the 8th December, in the morning, Ozzy decided to go for a few laps around the fields around the estate. He had successfully done so many times, however, during one turn, he had bounced into the air from one of the grassy bumps and though details are not fully certain, it would seem Ozzy was thrown from the ATV and slammed into the ground hard as his ATV drifted a short distance away. Sam, Ozzy’s bodyguard, was first on the scene, and tried to wake the unconscious Ozzy up, however, rather frightfully, he noted that Ozzy wasn’t breathing. As the production crew swarmed the area, Ozzy began to breathe again and Sam picked him up and held him as he transferred Ozzy to a medical team.

Meanwhile, Kelly was informed about the incident over the phone and immediately began crying and rushed out to see Ozzy. Sharon was also informed via phone whilst still all the way in the United States, she contemplated by standing outside worried sick over her husband’s well-being before making plans to visit him in England. It can be presumed that Jack was informed in a similar fashion.

Aftermath

Ozzy had broken several ribs and his neck, he had some internal bleeding as well and had to spend three weeks in the hospital. Sharon had travelled over to the UK to visit but had to return for other business. Ozzy was eventually released and immediately wanted to donate money and send “thank you” cards over to the hospital and staff there. He eventually returned to United States, however could not do an awful amount as due to his injuries, he had to stay relatively put in the house and wear a neck brace for several weeks that began to slowly annoy Ozzy over time.