Ant McPartlin has now returned to rehab after his drink driving arrest on Sunday.
But the family in the other car, who were travelling with their four-year-old daughter, have come forward to reveal that the Saturday Night Takeaway presenter could have "wiped out" their family.
Faheem and Shilpa Vanoo, from Brentford in West London, were driving in their green Mini in Richmond, South London with their daughter Amaira, when Ant "came flying around a sharp corner on the wrong side of the road."
GALLERY: Ant and Dec's career timeline
RADIO Ant and Dec career timeline SLIDER with cover pic
1 of 16Swipe through to see Ant and Dec's career timeline...
2 of 16Ant & Dec in Byker Grove: 1989
In 1989, Dec landed a part on BBC children's drama Byker Grove, playing Duncan. A year later Ant was cast as PJ – and thus, PJ and Duncan was born.
3 of 16Ant & Dec's friendship blossomed: 1990
Ant previously revealed his friendship with Dec started in 1990, when he sent him a Christmas card and invited him to a football match.He said, "And that was that. It just happened immediately. We clicked. We'd spend all day making each other laugh and annoying everyone and quoting Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer lines to each other."When their parts were written out of Byker Grove, the boys vowed to stick together. Dec told Weekend magazine, "We made a pact. We said to each other, 'Look, whatever happens, I'll always be there for you and you're never in this life on your own or against the world – you've always got a mate looking out for you."Dec said, "It's our choice to socialise outside work. And we both get to go to work with our best mate every day. And that keeps our feet on the ground" as Ant added, "We love each other, definitely."
4 of 16Ant and Dec's children's TV shows: 1994
Another career change for the boys came in 1994, when they began as co-presenters of children's show Gimme 5 on CITV. Just a year later they landed their own programme, The Ant & Dec Show, this time on CBBC.
5 of 16Ant and Dec's pop career: 1994
It wasn't just acting for the boys: PJ & Duncan were pop stars for a while, and became best known for their 1994 UK top 10 'Let's Get Ready to Rhumble'. After the pair performed it on Saturday Night Takeaway, the song went to Number 1 in March 2013.Their last studio album, The Cult of Ant and Dec, was released in 1997, managing to chart at number 15.
6 of 16Ant and Dec on SMTV: 1998
This kicked off their kids' TV careers, and landed them their first BAFTA Awards.After various other presenting gigs, Ant & Dec started hosting ITV's Saturday morning shows SMTV and CD
7 of 16Ant and Dec on Pop Idol: 2001
But, in 2001, they made the move from Saturday morning to prime time – for a little show called Pop Idol... They presented Pop Idol for two years, before it replaced with The X Factor and Kate Thornton took over.
8 of 16Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway: 2002
This gave them the opportunity to create and present Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, which is on hiatus until 2020 after Ant McPartlin decided to take a step back from presenting.
9 of 16Ant and Dec on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!: 2002
In 2002, a year after Saturday Night Takeaway's debut, the boys joined I'm a Celebrity and have become huge parts of the show. In 2018, Ant decided not to host the show, and This Morning's Holly Willoughby stepped in to present with Dec.
10 of 16Ant and Dec in Love Actually: 2003
Ant and Dec had become such huge names in the UK in 2003, that director Richard Curtis invited them to have cameos in Love Actually, where they cautiously interview Bill Nighy's character, Billy Mack who hilariously calls Dec 'Ant or Dec'.
11 of 16Ant and Dec on Britain's Got Talent: 2006
Establishing themselves as the busiest presenters in the country, Ant & Dec signed up for Britain's Got Talent in 2006 – and a year later signed a two-year golden handcuffs deal with ITV, which was thought to be worth £40 million and have been hosting the show ever since.
12 of 16Ant marries Lisa Armstrong: 2006
Ant married his long-term girlfriend Lisa Armstrong in 2006, with Dec acting as best man. Sadly, the marriage ended in 2018 after Ant's addiction struggles.
13 of 16Dec marries Ali Astall: 2015
In 2015, Dec married his longtime manager Ali Astall with Ant acting as best man - of course. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Isla in September 2018.
14 of 16Ant and Dec awarded OBEs: 2017
Ant and Dec were awarded OBEs in the 2017 Queen's honours for services to broadcasting and entertainment at Buckingham Palace. They said, "We're humbled and honoured and ecstatic about the whole thing. We hope it can inspire young people from backgrounds like ours that things like this do happen to us sometimes. Put your head down and work hard and you can achieve what you want. You can end up in Buckingham Palace."
15 of 16Ant's addiction struggles: 2017
In 2015, Ant was prescribed painkillers for botched surgery on his knee. Over the next two years, he became dependent on the drugs and on alcohol. In 2017, he entered rehab to deal with his addictions, and returned to work in the November. However, in March 2018, he was involved in a three-car road collision which involved a young family. He was arrested on suspicion of drink driving, and pleaded guilty in court in April. He was fined £86,000 and banned from driving for 20 months, and stepped down from his TV duties in August 2018, returning in January 2019.
16 of 16Ant and Dec's National Television Awards record: 2019
Among their numerous gongs, Ant & Dec have received the National Television Award for Best Presenter for 18 years running. They were also awarded a Guinness World Record for the most wins of the award in January 2019.
Speaking to The Sun, Faheem, 41, who was driving, said that he hardly had any time to react, so swerved inward to the kerb to avoid a head-on collision.
He said: "I’m convinced that split-second turn of the wheel saved us all from being crippled or killed. I reckon he was doing 50 or 60mph."
Luckily, restaurant-owner Faheem was only travelling at around 20mph and they all had seatbelts on, but added: "It was still a big impact."
He said: "I don’t care whether he’s a millionaire and I don’t care whether he’s a famous TV star — he could have put my daughter in a wheelchair."
Contrary to reports yesterday, Amaira thankfully did not need to be taken to hospital, but was assessed in an ambulance at the scene and was understandably very shaken up.
Shilpa, 36, told the publication that she actually became so enraged that she "tried to run up to him and smash his face," adding that she needed to be help back.
The top chef, who has worked with Raymond Blanc, had been sitting in the back seat and had hit the headrest in front of her, causing a split lip.
She added that after she'd been able to calm down, someone asked Ant whether he was ok - but that he "never said a word to us and never apologised."
WATCH: GMB presenter visits the aftermath of Ant McPartlin's car crash
She didn't realise it was Ant straight away, adding that it was a "terrible, chaotic scene."
Sufyan Raza, who was in the other car with Melania Valeri, claimed that Ant had been swearing at police and making it difficult to get into the car, even shouting out: "Don't you know who I am?"
He added: "His hands were cuffed in front of him and I saw him banging his fists on the windows."
Melania said: "I didn’t recognise the friendly face we see on TV when I saw him after the crash.
"He was just this scruffy little guy with a beard who looked the worse for wear."