Jeremy Renner shares update after critical snow plow injury while helping family member

Just In | The Hill 

(NEXSTAR) – After suffering blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries in a Nevada snow plow accident over the weekend, Jeremy Renner has spoken out for the first time on Tuesday.

In a short post to Instagram, the 51-year-old “Avengers” star wrote, “Thank you all for your kind words. Im [sic] too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all.”

He also shared a selfie from his hospital bed that showed injuries to the left side of his face.

A representative for Renner said the actor was in critical but stable condition in an intensive care unit on Monday after undergoing surgery at a Reno, Nevada hospital.

Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve told the Reno Gazette-Journal that Renner had been helping a stranded vehicle outside his home on the side of a snowy mountain. Renner was then run over by his own vehicle.

The Washoe County sheriff’s office said in a statement Sunday that deputies responded to a report of a traumatic injury in the area of the Mt. Rose Highway at about 9 a.m. Sunday before Renner was flown by helicopter to a local hospital. A powerful winter storm dumped more than 2 feet of snow on the area Saturday night into Sunday morning.

During a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam explained the Mt. Rose Highway was closed at the time of the incident. Authorities have determined Renner’s personal vehicle was being driven by a family member when it became stuck in the snow near his home.

Renner used his Pisten Bully snowcat, a large piece of snow-clearing machinery commonly used to groom snow trails, to tow his stuck vehicle. As he had reportedly done in the past, Balaam said Renner was using the snowcat to clear the roadway for his neighbors.

After getting his vehicle out of the snow, the actor got out of the snowcat to speak with his family member, Balaam said, but the machinery then began to roll.

Authorities believe Renner then tried to climb back into the driver’s seat of the snowcat. He then appeared to be run over by the machine, Balaam explained, noting that a witness reported seeing Renner get into the vehicle, but didn’t see him again until the snowcat came to a stop against a nearby snowbank.

The intense snowfall in the area did delay emergency responders but neighbors did rush to help Renner, Balaam said.

“At this point in the investigation, we do not believe Mr. Renner was impaired at all and we believe this is a tragic accident,” Balaam said Tuesday. Investigators are now analyzing the Pisten Bully to determine if there were any mechanical failures that caused it to roll.

No foul play is suspected and the investigation remains ongoing, according to Balaam.

Renner plays Hawkeye, a sharp-shooting member of the superhero Avengers squad in Marvel’s sprawling movie and television universe. He is also an honorary deputy sheriff, Balaam said Tuesday.

He is a two-time acting Oscar nominee, scoring back-to-back nods for “The Hurt Locker” and “The Town.” Renner’s portrayal of a bomb disposal specialist in Iraq in 2009′s “The Hurt Locker” helped turn him into a household name.

“The Avengers” in 2012 cemented him as part of Marvel’s grand storytelling ambitions, with his character appearing in several sequels and getting its own Disney+ series, “Hawkeye.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

​Nexstar Media Wire News Read More