Jeremy Renner is opening up about his near-death experience after being run over by a snowplow in January.
“I’d do it again. Yeah, I’d do it again,” the actor explained. “‘Cause it’s going right at my nephew,” he said, referring to the snowplow that eventually crushed him.
“I chose to survive,” Renner revealed of the accident, which left him with over 30 broken bones. “It’s not gonna kill me. No way.”
Renner said he still remembers “all” of the pain from impact. “I was awake through every moment,” he told Diane Sawyer in a special for ABC News.
Jeremy Renner say she “chose to survive” after suffering serious injuries from a snowplow accident in January. (Mike Smith/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/ABC)
Just 13 minutes prior to the accident, it was revealed Renner had recorded a video of himself experiencing the outdoors. The previous night, the Reno, Nevada, area where he resides received an estimated three feet of snow. His nephew’s car was stuck in the snow.
Using his PistenBully, a 14,000-pound snowcat, Renner extricated the trapped vehicle from the driveway. After exiting the PistenBully and talking to a family member, the snowplow started to roll unexpectedly, striking him.
Renner suffered significant injuries due to his New Year’s Day accident in Reno, Nevada. (Jeremy Renner/ Instagram)
Renner’s nephew divulged the moment he thought his uncle was dead.
“I just perfectly see him in a pool of blood coming from his head, and I ran up to him. You know, I didn’t think he was alive,” he said.
Audio from the 911 call plays, while voices can be heard saying to Renner, “Keep breathing, man. Keep fighting. Hang in there, brother.”
However, no voice drowns out the disturbing moans of Renner in the background, described as the sounds of a person who is dying.
JEREMY RENNER GIVES UPDATE ON RECOVERY, STRENGTHENS MUSCLES AFTER BEING CRUSHED IN SNOWPLOW ACCIDENT
Renner shared a video of himself getting his head massaged while wearing a hairnet and a breathing medical mask. (Jeremy Renner/Instagram)
Renner has documented his journey from the beginning, often highlighting his supportive family while undergoing treatment in the hospital. He even enjoyed an “ICU spa moment” with his mother and sister.
The actor became emotional after Sawyer revealed he had used sign language to communicate with his family to say, “I’m sorry.”
Renner questioned what his body would look like after the accident. (Jeremy Renner/Instagram)
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Sawyer listed a litany of injuries Renner survived, including eight ribs broken in 14 places, as well as both ankles, his right knee, his left tibia, and many more broken bones. His lung also collapsed after being pierced from the rib to his liver.
Renner admits that with all the injuries, he questioned his appearance.
“And then like, what’s my body look like,” he said of his impacted physical state. “Am I just gonna be like a spine… and a brain, like a science experiment.”
Three months out from the traumatic event, and determined to document his recovery, Renner said that when he looks in the mirror, “I see a lucky man.”
Footage of Renner rehabbing his body after the accident was shown in the trailer for the ABC special. (ABC)
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Committed to his craft, Renner has filmed countless action sequences for previous projects.
The “Hurt Locker” actor was asked if he could envision getting back to a place where he can perform his own stunts.
“I’ve lost a lot of flesh and bone in this experience, but I’ve been really refueled and refilled with love and titanium,” Renner joked.
“Jeremy Renner: The Diane Sawyer Interview – A Story of Terror, Survival and Triumph” is set to air April 6 on ABC.
