Actor Jeremy Renner has revealed he was so badly injured after being crushed by a six-tonne snowplough that he wrote his final goodbyes to his family.
The Marvel action star opens up about the life-threatening freak accident in an upcoming interview with ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer.
In a clip released ahead of the interview screening in the US later on Thursday, a grave-faced Renner chokes back tears as he says he could have died if he was alone that day.
“[It] would have been a horrible way to die,” he tells Sawyer.
“And surely I would have.”
Renner reveals he feared the worst.
“I’m writing down notes in my phone … last words to my family,” he says.
With a pained expression, he speaks of the accident on January 1, 2023, which left him with with 30 broken bones.
Sawyer describes the 52-year-old actor as someone who had played a superhero but was now “sitting in a wheelchair saying he’s so grateful he’s not alone”.
Audio from the emergency phone call made at 8.55am, in the moments after Renner’s snowplough accident outside his Reno home, is replayed to set the scene.
‘”Someone’s been run over by a snowcat, hurry,” the caller says.
The dispatcher asks: “OK, tell me exactly what happened.”
The caller responds: “I don’t know, someone’s in front of my house, on the ground, and got run over by a snowcat. He’s been crushed.”
The man’s voice sounds shaky as he tries to relay the gravity of the situation.
“Listen to me … you might wanna to get Lifeflight out here immediately … he’s in rough shape.”
Renner was flown to hospital with serious injuries. He spent weeks in hospital and has since been undergoing rehabilitation.
“We can confirm that Jeremy has suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopaedic injuries and has undergone surgery today, January 2nd 2023,” Renner’s family told Extra in the days after the accident.
“He has returned from surgery and remains in the intensive care unit in critical but stable condition.”
The Hawkeye actor has continued to share updates of his recovery process online.
He has also previously thanked staff at the intensive care unit where he was taken following the accident, for “beginning this journey”.
His near-death accident happened early on New Year’s day, near the Mount Rose Highway, which links Lake Tahoe and south Reno as it straddles the Nevada-California border in the US.
In the aftermath, Renner posted a picture of himself from his hospital bed, thanking fans for their support. But he said he was “too messed up to type”.
Scores of famous faces, including his Marvel co-stars, praised the actor for his bravery and sent well wishes in the aftermath.
