Actor Jeremy Renner was trying to prevent his snowplow from sliding and hitting his nephew when he was crushed by the tractor on New Year’s Day, an incident report from the Nevada sheriff’s office says.
The Jan. 1 incident report from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office says Renner towed his nephew’s truck out of the snow on his Reno property on a private road.
The plow, called a Pistenbully, began to slide downhill so Renner got out but did not apply the emergency brake, the report says. The plow, which runs on a track, was sliding towards his nephew, who was in his truck.
The report says that Renner tried to get on the track to deflect the plow or stop it.
“Renner was pulled under the Pistenbully, and the track rolled over him,” the report says. «Renner sustained injuries to his torso, extremities, face and head.»
The report also says that there were some mechanical problems with the truck, but it is believed that the parking brake would have prevented the snowplow from moving forward.
The 52-year-old actor was hospitalized on New Year’s Day following the incident. In a post on his Instagram last week, he wrote a lengthy update on his condition.
Thanking his fans, he said that his «workouts, resolutions, everything changed this particular new year.»
“Spawned out of tragedy for my entire family and quickly focused on united actionable love,” he wrote. “These more than 30 broken bones will be mended, strengthened, as love and bonds with family and friends deepen.”
The PistenBully snowplow weighs at least 7 tons, Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said at a news conference after the accident.
Neighbors helped him as he waited 40 minutes for first responders to arrive due to weather conditions, Balaam said at the time.
“What I can tell you is that there was no doctor on the scene,” Balaam shared. «They were good neighbors…who came out with some towels and helped out.»