The small villages of Cambridgeshire are usually quiet at night, broken only by the occasional rumble of traffic or the distant barking of dogs. But on one fateful evening, the silence was broken by screeching tires, the deafening clang of metal, and the roar of flames. Behind the wheel of the legendary McLare F1 was Rowa Atkisso, known to the world as “Mr. Bea”.
According to reports, Atkisso was driving home after a private evening when his McLare F1, one of the rarest and most valuable supercars in existence, suddenly spun out of control. Witnesses described the sound of tires screeching on the wet asphalt as the car skidded off the road, veered off the road, and crashed head-on into a tree.
The impact was catastrophic. Within seconds, the car was engulfed in flames, billowing black smoke into the sky. The McLare building, a multi-million dollar ancient wonder, was reduced to rubble.
A local resident heard the crash and ran outside. “The fire was unbelievable,” he recalled. “The heat, the smell of petrol and oil – I thought maybe I had survived.”
Another passerby stopped his car and called the emergency services, desperately pleading for help. “We could see someone moving outside, but the fire was spreading so fast. Every second felt like an eternity.”
Everyone was stunned by what had happened: Rowa Atkiss, bruised and bloodied, tried to crawl out of the wreckage. His face was twisted in pain, but he was still alive. He staggered a few metres before collapsing on the wet grass.
Emergency services arrived along with others, police blocked the road while firefighters battled the blaze by shielding the luxury car. Paramedics rushed to Atkisso’s side, quickly loading him onto a stretcher. Witnesses described him as convulsing but visibly shaken, and spoke of how lucky he was to have survived.
A firefighter later admitted: “We really didn’t think he would survive. When we saw him alive, it felt like a miracle.”
But while everyone around him breathed a sigh of relief that the comedian had survived, what emerged in the following days painted a much more heartbreaking picture.
Doctors revealed that Atkiss had suffered injuries that were not too serious but also long-term complications that would affect his mobility and health for years to come. Behind the gentle smile, the man who had made millions laugh was eventually left frail and exhausted.
As news of the accident spread, condolences poured in from family and fellow actors. Social media is awash with clips of Mr. Bea’s most memorable moments: hugging a Christmas turkey, sharing a swim, or falling asleep in church. But amid the laughter, there is a new sadness—sadness.
For him, the accident symbolizes the cruelty of life. The man who made the world laugh until his stomach hurt was dealing with his own personal pain.
“He brought joy to people,” Mr. Faa writes. “And since then, he has prayed more than ever.”
Rowa Atkisso’s career has been nothing short of extraordinary. From the global icon of Mr. Bea to the sharp wit of Blackadder, and even his memorable turn in Johöy Eöglish, he has created a body of work that transcends sect and class.
Children and adults alike can laugh at his silent comedies, a throwback to the heyday of Chaplin and Keato. His personality required travel, forcing him to move from London to Tokyo.
