The Tragic Accident of Jeremy R. Renner: A Snowplow Driven by a Pistenbully Unstripped Driver
A publicist for Renner said in a statement Monday that he suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries and remained in critical but stable condition in intensive care unit following surgery at a Reno hospital.
A source close to the actor previously told CNN that he had undergone two surgeries in order to address injuries he sustained in the accident.
The Sheriff’s Office did not say how the snow plow accident occurred, but it said the Major Accident Investigation Team was looking into the incident.
At the time of the injury, parts of western Nevada were blanketed with snow. Between 6 and 12 inches of snow fell at elevations below 5000 feet between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.
The actor has posted a number of pictures and videos on his verified social media accounts, which show him in snow, including a video he posted two weeks ago in which he drives a snowplow.
The doctors and nurses who looked after Jeremy were praised by his family, as well as the sheriff, the mayor and the Carano and Murdock families. They were overwhelmed by the love and support from his fans.
Actor Jeremy Renner thanked fans from his hospital bed Tuesday as he continued to recover from two surgeries following being injured by a snowplow machine in what officials described as “a tragic accident.”
Thank you for being kind to each other. Im too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all, and my picture was taken in a hospital bed.
“After successfully towing his personal vehicle from its stuck location, Mr. Renner got out of his (snowcat) to speak to his family member,” Balaam said. The Pistenbully started to move. In an effort to stop (it), Mr. Renner attempts to climb back into the driver’s seat. It’s at this point that Mr. Renner is run over.”
The machine started to roll away while Renner was not in the driver’s seat. He was injured as he tried to get back into the machine, Balaam explained. His family was with him when he was injured.
A Snowcat and a “Avengers” Star Collision on a Private Road Around the Mt. Rose Highway on Sunday
Minutes before 9 a.m. on Sunday, authorities received word of the accident through a 911 call reporting a crash involving a snowcat and a pedestrian on Mount Rose Highway, Balaam said Tuesday.
At least a dozen cars were stranded due to the severe winter weather that hit the area and the highway was closed even through it was not snowing.
A helicopter landed in the area of the highway at 9:37 a.m. and Renner was taken to a Reno-area hospital at 9:56 a.m.
The 51-year-old “Avengers” star was seriously hurt when he was run over by his own snowcat after using it to free a vehicle driven by a family member that became stuck in 3 feet of fresh mountain snow on New Year’s Day, Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said.
An investigation is continuing but there were no signs of foul play or any indication Renner was impaired at the time of the Sunday morning incident, Balaam told reporters.
The sheriff believes that this is a tragic accident. He was a great neighbor, but he was plowing the roads for his neighbors.
Balaam said Renner had used his Pistenbully snow groomer, a 7-ton vehicle he owns, to tow another personal vehicle that had become snowbound on a private road he shares with neighbors.
“He was helping someone stranded in the snow,” Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve told the Reno Gazette-Journal Monday night. She said she and the actor are friends and that she was called about the accident shortly after it happened near the Mt. Rose Highway that connects Reno to Lake Tahoe.
The first responders from Reno traveled several miles of snowy road to reach Renner on the private road off the highway.
A Conversation with Ray Balaam: Marvel’s “Memory Hero” Has a Long Journey to a Place of Worst
Balaam said the two-time acting Oscar nominee has become an honorary deputy sheriff in Reno through his participation in the county’s “Shop with the Sheriff” program that raises money for children to shop for Christmas gifts.
Renner scored back-to-back Oscar nominations for The Hurt Locker and The Town. His portrayal of a bomb disposal specialist in Iraq in 2009’s The Hurt Locker helped turn him into a household name.
He was part of the grand plan by Marvel, with his character appearing in several sequels and a Disney+ series.