'I thought I was going to die': Tycoon Richard Branson reveals how he cheated death in high-speed bike crash when he smashed head first onto the road on the British Virgin Islands

• Virgin tycoon Sir Richard was on a training cycle run with his children
• They were on British Virgin Islands when horrifying incident happened
• 66-year-old billionaire was taken to Miami, Florida, for X-rays and scans
• Medics there found he had suffered torn ligaments and a cracked cheek

Read more, after the cut.

Sir Richard Branson has revealed how he feared he would die after crashing head first onto a road in a high-speed bike crash on the British Virgin Islands.

The 66-year-old Virgin tycoon was on a training cycle run with his two adult children Holly and Sam when the horrifying incident happened on Virgin Gorda on Monday.

Sir Richard, who is worth nearly £4billion, was taken to Miami, Florida, for X-rays and scans - which found he had suffered torn ligaments and a cracked cheek.  

Sir Richard was cycling on the British Virgin Islands when the incident happened on Monday

He said: ‘I was heading down a hill towards Leverick Bay when it suddenly got really dark and I managed to hit a ‘sleeping policeman’ hump in the road head on.

‘The next thing I knew, I was being hurled over the handlebars and my life was literally flashing before my eyes. I really thought I was going to die.