'He was lucky he didn't die' - George Michael fell out of speeding car onto M1 motorway, according to eye witness

Injured singer George Michael fell from his vehicle on to the carriageway of the M1 motorway, an eyewitness has claimed. (Reuters)

Injured singer George Michael fell from his vehicle on to the carriageway of the M1 motorway, an eyewitness has claimed.

The star was airlifted to hospital with a head injury following the accident on Thursday, although his publicist Connie Filipello passed his injuries off as "superficial cuts and bruises".

But another driver who was behind the 49-year-old singer's vehicle has told The Sun she saw him lying on the road surface smeared with blood.

Katherine Fox, 23, said he was wearing a ripped tracksuit and his trainers had come off when she saw him. She stopped her mini to provide protection by preventing other cars from hitting him.

Fox said she had been told the former Wham! star had tried to adjust his door because it was not properly closed and had fallen out.

Describing his appearance she told the paper: "There was a nasty cut on his forehead and the back of his head. There was blood all down his face and on his teeth.

"He was breathing and conscious but in shock."

The singer was close to death only 18 months ago after being struck down with pneumonia in Vienna, but he fought back to perform again.

His motorway accident took place close to junction 6a on the northbound carriageway of the M1 in Hertfordshire, close to where the motorway meets the M25.

Michael, whose hits include "Faith" and "Freedom", was treated at the scene and then taken to hospital by air ambulance.

Last week's accident was the latest car drama for the troubled singer.

In September 2010 Michael received an eight-week prison sentence following an incident the previous July in which he crashed his Range Rover into a shop in north London.

He was also given a five-year driving ban after he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs and possessing cannabis.

And he had earlier been banned from driving for two years and sentenced to 100 hours of community service in 2006 when he was convicted of driving while unfit through drugs after he was found collapsed in his Mercedes.

Following his brush with pneumonia in late 2011, Michael made a tearful appearance outside his London home after flying back into the country and said it had been "touch and go" whether he lived.

Doctors had performed a tracheotomy to keep his airways open and he was unconscious for some of his spell in hospital.

"They spent three weeks keeping me alive basically," he said. "It was basically by far the worst month of my life."

Michael said he had been lucky to have become ill close to a hospital with suitable specialists, adding: "I have to believe that somebody thinks I've still got some work to do here."

A spokeswoman for the singer insisted today that he was "fine" although he continued to be kept in hospital for observation.

She said: "He's still in hospital but this is standard practice to keep an eye on him

"He has a couple of bumps and grazes and cuts to the head, but he's making good progress and looking forward to getting out."

PA