Earlier this year, Jeremy Renner was involved in a harrowing accident in which he was crushed by a snow plow after helping his nephew out of a snowbank. Now that the actor is stable and recovering, he revealed more about the terrifying incident which left him lucky to be alive.
Renner sat down for a one-on-one with ABC News this week when he detailed the events of that horrific day. “If I was there, on my own, that’d [have] been a horrible way to die. And surely I would’ve. Surely,” Renner said. “But I wasn’t alone. It was my nephew. Sweet Alex. And the rest of the cavalry came.” Renner’s neighbors and family quickly called 911 after he was crushed by a Sno-Cat, which weighed over 14,000 pounds.
When Renner was finally rushed to the hospital, his injuries were so severe that he began to write a “goodbye” note to his friends and family. He explained to Diane Sawyer, “I’m writing down notes in my phone to — last words to my family,” Renner said in the clip.
Sawyer detailed the extent of Renner’s injuries: “Eight ribs broken in 14 places. Right knee, right ankle broken, left leg tibia broken, left ankle broken, right clavicle broken, right shoulder broken. Face, eye socket, jaw, mandible broken. Lung collapsed. Pierced from the rib bone, your liver — which sounds terrifying.” Sawyer added.
Since the accident in January, Renner has been making a miraculous recovery, thanks to the support (and ill-timed jokes) from his fellow Avengers, though mostly thanks to the doctors who helped him. “I chose to survive. That’s not gonna kill me, no way,” he said of the accident. “I’ve lost a lot of flesh and bone in this experience, but I’ve been refueled and refilled with love and titanium.” Love and Titanim sounds a bit like a potential title for another Thor movie, right?
The full interview, titled Jeremy Renner: The Diane Sawyer Interview — A Story of Terror, Survival and Triumph, will air April 6th at 10 pm on ABC, and April 7th on Hulu.