On 19 May 1976 the Rolling Stone guitarist was driving back from a perfomance in Knebworth, carrying four passengers in his blue Bentley, when he fell asleep at the wheel.
Just before 4am, he veered off the M1 motorway near Newport Pagnell, careering into a field and ploughing through a hedge and fence.
Amazingly everybody in the car, including his young son Marlon, escaped unharmed.
Richards later said in his autobiography ‘Life: “I’m a good driver, I mean nobody’s perfect, right? Somewhere I lost it, fell asleep, I just passed out. We skidded off the road.
"But I managed to get it off the road and into a field, which is after all the sensible thing to do. At least we didn’t hit anybody, we didn’t kill anybody. We didn’t even hurt ourselves.”
However, his luck ran out when police were called after the crash and found what they believed to be drugs hidden in the car.
Richards was arrested and taken to the old Newport Pagnell police station. Flick through our picture gallery to discover what happened to him.
1. The day Keith Richards almost died in Milton Keynes
Keith Richards was lucky to survive a car crash in Newport Pagnell in 1976 Photo: Getty Images
2. The day Keith Richards almost died in Milton Keynes
Keith Richards, then 33, was driving back from a Rolling Stones concert in the early hours of the morning in May 1976 Photo: Getty Images
3. The day Keith Richards almost died in Milton Keynes
His blue Bentley, nicknamed Blue Lena, veered off the motorway near Newport Pagnell when Richards fell asleep at the wheel. He was carrying four passgners, including his young son Marlon. Photo: Other third party
4. The day Keith Richards almost died in Milton Keynes
Police were called after the crash and they found drugs in the car. Keith Richards was arrested and taken to Newport Pagnell police station to be interviewed. He was charged with possession of marijuana and cocaine. Photo: Other third party