Umar Mahmood: Teenager who appeared in Freddie Flintoff’s Field Of Dreams cricket documentary dies in crash

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A teenager who appeared in Freddie Flintoff’s Field Of Dreams series has died in a car crash.

Umar Mahmood, 18, died in hospital on Friday morning after the Audi A3 sport he was driving crashed in Chain Caul Way, Preston, on Tuesday evening, Lancashire Police said.

A 16-year-old passenger died as a result of his injuries on Thursday. A second passenger, 17, is in a stable condition in hospital, the force added.

Mr Mahmood appeared in the first series of the BBC programme fronted by Flintoff, 46.

His former school, Penwortham Priory Academy, confirmed his death with a statement.

“Umar was a bright, studious and well-loved member of our school community,” it said.

“He had a passion for geography as well as his cricket, playing for Priory’s school team and appearing in the BBC One documentary Freddie Flintoff’s Field Of Dreams.

More on Andrew ‘freddie’ Flintoff

“It was a privilege for us here at Priory to know Umar. He was a young man who was always considerate to those around him and who showed ambition and kindness in all that he did.”

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The 16-year-old passenger who died, Adam Bodi, was also a former student at the school.

A statement on behalf of the principal paid tribute to him earlier this week.

In it, he was described as “an amazing pupil, of whom we have nothing but fantastic memories”.

“He was popular, bright, confident and had a fantastic sense of humour alongside being a first-class footballer, who had been part of our football team here at Priory for five years,” the statement added.

Police are appealing for witnesses and any dashcam footage from the scene of the incident, which happened at 10.55pm on Tuesday.

Sergeant Paul McCurrie, of Lancashire Police’s road policing unit, said: “This was a collision with tragic circumstances. Two young people have died, and I wish to extend my sympathy to their families, loved ones and friends.

“We are investigating how the collision happened, and we continue to ask for anyone who witnessed it to contact us.”

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Freddie Flintoff a week on from his near-fatal crash in a Field of Dreams clip. Pic: BBC

Flintoff and co-presenter break silence over crash

The crash comes after former England star Flintoff spoke out about the near-fatal collision he had while filming for Top Gear.

He sustained serious facial injuries and broken ribs after the crash at Dunsfold Aerodrome, Surrey, in December 2022.

The incident happened midway through the filming of the second season of Field of Dreams.

In a clip from the show filmed a week-and-a-half afterwards, he says: “Genuinely should not be here after what happened.

“This is going to be a long road back and I have only just started and I am struggling already. Got to look at the positive side, I’m still here, I’ve got another chance. I’ve got a go at it… a second go.”

His former co-presenter Chris Harris has also said he “saw this coming” – and tried to flag concerns to BBC bosses but claims they were dismissed.

Chris Harris, pictured centre, with Paddy McGuinness (left) and Freddie Flintoff (right) at Dunsfold Park in 2019
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Freddie Flintoff (right), Chris Harris (centre), and Paddy McGuinness (left) at Dunsfold Park in 2019

“What’s really killed me is that no one’s ever really acknowledged the fact that I called it beforehand,” he told a podcast last week.

He went on: “I thought I’d done the right thing. I’m not very good at that. I normally just go with the flow, but I saw this coming. I thought I did the right thing. I went to the BBC and I found out really that no one had taken me very seriously.”

Flintoff had another minor incident when filming for Top Gear in February 2019, when he crashed into a market stall in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

In 2006, former presenter Richard Hammond crashed a jet-powered dragster at nearly 320mph (515kph) during filming.

He spent two weeks in a coma following the incident, which took place at the former RAF Elvington airbase near York, and has since revealed he now suffers from memory loss.

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