Virgin founder and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson feared he was “a goner” after a bicycle crash in the Caribbean.

Branson badly damaged his cheek and suffered severe cuts to his knee, chin, shoulder and body when he came to grief on the island Virgin Gorda.

“I was heading down a hill towards Leverick Bay when it suddenly got really dark and I managed to hit a sleeping policeman hump (traffic dome) in the road head on,” Branson said.

Branson was hospitalised for treatment. Photo: Virgin.com

“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.

“I went flying head-first towards the concrete road, but fortunately my shoulder and cheek took the brunt of the impact, and I was wearing a helmet that saved my life.

“My bike went flying off the cliff and disappeared. We’ve since recovered the crumpled bicycle, completely destroyed.

“My cheek has been badly damaged and my knee, chin, shoulder and body severely cut.”