Jeremy Renner is lucky to be alive after being crushed by a Snowcat on New Year’s Day, and now he’s providing his recount of how it happened and detailing the brutal injuries he survived. The actor recently sat down with Diane Sawyer for an interview that airs tonight on ABC, and while he looks to be in surprisingly decent health following the accident, Renner is using a walker in the early part of the film.
.@ABC EXCLUSIVE: First look at @DianeSawyer’s interview with @JeremyRenner, as the actor opens up for the first time about his near-fatal snowplow accident.
Watch Thursday, April 6, on ABC and the next day on @Hulu. https://t.co/3T71flHNnD pic.twitter.com/VDD6ceY5yA
— Good Morning America (@GMA)
April 5, 2023
Renner told Sawyer that he “just got upright yesterday,” 10 weeks since he was run over by his 14,000-pound snow plow, which started to roll. Renner tried to get back in the driver’s seat of the moving vehicle to keep it from hitting his nephew. The accident on his property in Nevada left him with 30 broken bones, including eight ribs, his right knee and ankle and right shoulder, along with a pierced liver and a collapsed lung.
His injuries were bad enough that he wondered if he’d survive the ordeal and, if he did, what kind of life he’d be able to live after recovery. “What’s my body look like? Am I just going to be like a spine and a brain like a science experiment?”
He told Sawyer that he wrote goodbye notes to family members from the hospital and said there were times he thought he wouldn’t make it. Renner’s mother said her son was intubated and noted that “his breathing was horrible.” He used American Sign Language to tell his family, “I’m sorry.”
Though we only have a clip of the interview, Renner seems amazingly well for having sustained such serious injuries. He’s expected to make an appearance at the premiere of his new reality show, “Rennervations,” which will air on Disney+. Attitude likely played a significant role in the recovery, as he told Sawyer that he didn’t want to be a victim or have people feel sorry for him.
“I’ve lost a lot of flesh and bone in this experience,” Renner told Sawyer. “But I’ve been refueled and refilled with love and titanium.”
Renner’s luck, unfortunately, did not extend to another beloved personality, as rally driver and beloved automotive personality Ken Block coincidentally died the day after Renner’s accident. Block was riding snowmobiles with family in Utah when a steep embankment caused him to flip. He was crushed underneath the machine.
