Jeremy Renner was run over by his unmanned Snowcat plough on a private road as he tried to help dig out neighbours following a massive storm, authorities say.
Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam described the incident on Sunday morning as a “tragic accident” and said that Renner was “unimpaired” and that investigators “do not suspect foul play.”
Sheriff Balaam told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that the accident took place near Renner’s northern Nevada home as he tried to move one of his vehicles that had become stuck.
“Mr Renner’s personal vehicle which was being driven by a family member had become stuck in the snow near his home,” said the sheriff.
“He went to retrieve his PistenBully or SnowCat - an extremely large piece of snow-moving equipment - to get his vehicle moving. After moving the vehicle from the stuck location Mr Renner got out of the PistenBully to speak to his family member and it started to roll.
“He attempted to try and get into the driver’s seat of the PistenBully, it was at this point that he was run over by the PistenBully.”
And he stated that the plow, which weighs more than 14,000-pounds, “started to just move forward.”
A witness told investigators that they saw Renner try and jump into the driver’s seat as the plow moved but he disappeared and the next time they saw him he was behind the plow.
The sheriff said that there had been 3ft of snow in the area where Renner lives the previous evening and multiple cars had been abandoned.
“We do not believe that Mr Renner was impaired at all and this was just a tragic accident. We do not suspect any foul play.”
“It was on a private road, he was being a great neighbour and ploughing the roads for his neighbours up there.”
The sheriff said they received a 911 call at 8.55am on Sunday for a “Snowcat versus a pedestrian” crash and that an emergency helicopter arrived near the scene at 9.37am and took off for a Reno hospital at 9.56am.
The sheriff said that Renner was conscious when help arrived following a 911 call being placed.
“He was speaking to first responders when they arrived at the scene,” he said.
Previous reports had stated that a neighbour who was a doctor attended to Renner’s injuries at the scene, but the sheriff denied this, saying that neighbours rushed out with towels to staunch the blood.
