Actor Jeremy Renner was run over by heavy equipment he used to free a vehicle stuck in snow, police said.
Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam called it a “tragic accident” during a Tuesday press briefing. Balaam added Renner was not impaired at the time of the accident.
Balaam said Renner had freed his personal vehicle, being driven by a family member, from deep snow using a 14,000 lb. PistenBully. After the actor exited the PistenBully to speak with his family member, the snow clearing machine started to roll.
“In an effort to stop the rolling PistenBully, Mr. Renner attempts to get back into the driver’s seat of the PistenBully,” the sheriff said. “It is at this point that Mr. Renner is run over by the PistenBully.”
The Daily Wire further reported:
Actor Jeremy Renner, 51, was reportedly attempting to dig his car from the deep snow at his home in Reno, Nevada, when the snowcat he was using ran over him and caused extensive injuries.
According to a report published Tuesday by entertainment website TMZ, Renner was working to get the car out of the snow when he got out of the vehicle to talk to someone — and when the snowcat began to roll, he attempted to get back behind the wheel.
The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office shared additional information during a press conference on Tuesday.
Sheriff Darin Balaam confirmed that they had received a 911 call just before 9 a.m. local time on Sunday, informing them that there had been a crash — “involving a Snowcat vs. pedestrian.” He also noted that the three feet of snow that had fallen the day before — along with a number of vehicles that had been abandoned along that stretch of the road — made it difficult for first responders to get to the scene.
Just before 10 a.m. local time, Balaam said that the Life Flight crew was finally able to get to the scene, after which Renner was quickly airlifted out and taken to a nearby hospital.
Balaam went on to describe the details of the accident as best he could, noting that investigators were still speaking to witnesses and filling in gaps in the information they had gathered thus far.
The car that had been stranded, Balaam said, was Renner’s personal vehicle — “which was being driven by a family member.”
He had managed to tow the vehicle from the snow, but once he got it free, he stepped out of the Snowcat to talk to his family member — after which the Snowcat began to roll.
“In an effort to stop the rolling PistenBully, Mr. Renner tries to get back in the driver’s seat of the PistenBully. Based on our investigation, it’s at this point that Mr. Renner is run over by the PistenBully,” he continued.
“At this point in the investigation we do not believe Mr. Renner was impaired at all, and we believe this is a tragic accident,” Balaam concluded. “The investigation is ongoing, however, we do not suspect any foul play. I’ll repeat that: We do not suspect any foul play. We believe this was a tragic accident.”
Renner shared an update from his hospital bed on Tuesday, saying, “Thank you all for your kind words. Im [sic] too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all.”
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
