Jeremy Renner health update: Close friend describes 'miracle' as Marvel actor now using wheelchair

Instagram / Jeremy Renner
Carl Bennett

By Carl Bennett


Published: 10/02/2023

- 16:09

The actor was crushed by a snowplough trying to save his nephew

Actor Jeremy Renner’s recovery from a freak snowplough accident earlier this year is a “straight-up miracle”, according to movie co-star Evangeline Lilly.

Renner, 52, was crushed by the six-tonne snowploughing machine while trying to save his nephew near his home near the Nevada-California state border in the US.


US actress Evangeline Lilly, who worked with Renner in 2008 Oscar-winning film The Hurt Locker, recently visited the actor at his home.

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Instagram / Jeremy Renner

“He has recovered like a mo-fo,” she told US outlet Access Hollywood.

“I walked in his house and got chicken skin, because I was like, ‘Why are you mobile? Why are you mobile? What’s happening?’

“I expected to sit at his bedside and hold his hand while he moaned and groaned in pain and wasn’t able to move. He was wheeling himself around, laughing with his friends. It’s a miracle, a straight-up miracle.

“He’s made of something really tough, that guy. You’ve always been able to see that in him. He is recovering incredibly, and I’m so grateful.”

Throughout his recovery, Renner has shared updates online for his fans. He revealed he had broken more than 30 bones in the incident, which Lilly describes as “a near-death experience”.

A report by deputy Garret Leone said that after he had arrived at the scene of the accident, he had spoken to pAlexander Fries – who had been the only one present.

“Jeremy is his uncle and was helping him get the Ford pickup truck out of the driveway. The pickup truck got stuck multiple times, so they used the PistenBully to pull the truck out of the driveway,” the report said.

“They had a chain connected to the back of the PistenBully and to the front of the Ford pickup. They got the pickup truck out of the driveway and Alexander parked in the middle of the street.

“Jeremy turned the PistenBully around further west on Drive. Once turned around, Jeremy exited the PistenBully in an attempt to speak to Alexander.

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Jonathan Brady

“Alexander observed the PistenBully traveling eastbound on Drive directly towards him with nobody inside driving the vehicle.

“While running towards the truck, Alexander observed Jeremy jumping on the tracks of the PistenBully to get in the cab of the vehicle. Alexander said Jeremy got caught on the PistenBully trucks and was ultimately run over by the PistenBully.”

Fries had begun “screaming for help” as he did not have his phone and was helped by two neighbours who provided towels and assistance to Renner while medical personnel arrived.

Another report from deputy Jonathan Miller added that “in an attempt to keep the PistenBully from striking Fries, (Renner) attempted to step up on the track in order to divert the PistenBully or get it stopped.

“Renner was pulled under the PistenBully, and the track rolled over him,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Marvel star posted on Instagram that the snow that had blocked the entrance to his home has now melted – describing the scene as a moment of “hope” for him.

Renner faces a long road to recovery which could take many years, with Lilley adding: “He’s got a journey to go through now. That’s what nightmares are made out of, and he lived through it and he’s on the other side now.”

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