MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

Terrifying animation shows moment Jeremy Renner was almost crushed to death by a snowcat

Renner survived the accident but was rushed to hospital with multiple injuries including 30 broken bones, a collapsed lung, and a pierced liver

RENO, NEVADA: Jeremy Renner’s latest sit-down interview with Diane Sawyer features a new dramatic animation that shows the horrific moment when he was almost crushed to death by a seven-ton snow plow near his home in Lake Tahoe, Nevada on January 1. The 52-year-old Oscar-nominated actor luckily survived the traumatic accident but was rushed to hospital with multiple injuries including 30 broken bones, a collapsed lung, and a pierced liver.

In an interview called 'Jeremy Renner: The Diane Sawyer Interview – A Story of Terror, Survival, and Triumph', Renner and his family reconstructed the events leading up to the incident and described his astonishing struggle to survive. The ‘Hawkeye’ star said the accident took place after he and his nephew Alexander Fries were attempting to plow the road in front of his home so that their family could go skiing. Renner assisted Fries with the snow plow as he was attempting to maneuver a pickup truck. After they were able to free the truck, the actor was pulling the snow plow out of the way when it started to slide down.

READ MORE

Jeremy Renner shares recovery update after breaking more than 30 bones in snow plow accident

Has Jeremy Renner retired from acting? Source reveals why movies are no longer 'priority' for actor

'It was my mistake’

Renner said he failed to find Fries and got concerned that he was about to get hit by the 14,330 pounds snowcat. He frantically leaned out the cab of the snow plow, which he told Sawyer was 'kind of like driving a car with your foot outside the car.' "It was my mistake," he added. The animation presented during the interview showed how the actor fell down and attempted to climb back into the cab but ended up being caught under the moving tire tracks. "That's when I screamed when I went under the thing - 'not today, motherf*****','' he said, according to Daily Mail.

Sawyer then asked Renner if he still remembers the pain. "Oh, all of it. I was awake for all of it," Renner replied, adding, "I was on asphalt and ice. It feels like you imagine it. I could see my eye from my other eye. I was seeing stars." Fries, who was also interviewed, claimed he saw what happened, and ran frantically to get help. "When I ran up to him, I didn't think he was alive," he stated. He came across Renner's neighbors, who hurried to their help, urgently attempting to prevent the actor from passing out and succumbing to his wounds.

‘I've been refueled with love - and titanium’

The ‘Mission Impossible’ actor suffered multiple injuries, including a collapsed lung, shattered jaw, eye socket, and perforated liver, in addition to breaking 12 ribs on one side and two on the other. He also injured his right knee, ankle, and shoulder. In total, he broke more than 30 bones - 15 percent of his bones were affected. Renner has undergone multiple surgeries and is finally making progress. Sawyer's team was sent a video of Renner recently walking downstairs using only a walking stick for assistance.

Renner said he intends to quickly make full recovery because of his ‘stubborn beliefs.’ "I've lost a lot of flesh and bone," he told Sawyer. "But I've been refueled with love - and titanium." Renner stated that he was content to leave the execution of stunts to the experts in any upcoming movies. In his first interview following the accident, Renner said he wrote a letter of apology to his family, who supported him while the ‘Avengers’ actor healed. "I moved my legs, and I said, that one's really messed up. That leg is going to be a problem," he said. "What does my body look like? Am I just going to be like a spine and a brain like a science experiment? Is that my existence now? What is my existence going to be like?"