'Thank you all for your kind words'
Jeremy Renner has posted a hospital bed selfie after his snowploughing accident over the weekend, thanking fans and admitting he is "messed up".
The two-time Oscar nominee, suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopaedic injuries, and is still in intensive care, after a snowplough ran over his leg while he was clearing snow near his home in Nevada.
In an Instagram post shortly before Washoe County Sheriff’s Office began a press conference over the New Year's Day accident, the Hawkeye actor wrote: “Thank you all for your kind words. I’m too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm-KZ1YPJe7/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=f75d2f0e-50c6-495b-90cd-32e52df153b2
According to
Deadline, Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam's wished Renner a "full and speedy recovery" and said police do not believe the performer was "impaired at all and we believe this is a tragic accident.”
Balaam noted the “severe winter weather” in the area where the accident occurred, with as much as 3 feet of new snow falling the night before.
He also for the first time provided details of the accident that happened around 9am.
Renner was using his Sno-Cat to free a vehicle of his, driven by a family member, from being stuck in snow near his Mt. Rose home about 25 miles outside Reno.
After Renner was able to free the car, Balaam said the actor got out of the Sno-Cat, a PistenBully, to talk to the family member, at which time the machine, which weighs more than 14,000 pounds, started to roll.
Renner then tried to get back into the driver's seat, at which point, Balaam said the PistonBully ran over him.
“An eyewitness detailed seeing Mr. Renner getting into the PistonBully, and not seeing him again until the PistonBully came to a rest in a pile of snow in front of his driveway.”
“We don’t suspect any foul play,” Balaam said.
The snow-clearing vehicle is now being inspected for mechanical failure and other issues.
The Hawkeye star underwent surgery and remained in the ICU in critical but stable condition.
Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve told the The Reno Gazette Journal on Monday that Renner was helping a stranded car on New Year’s Day when he was run over by his own vehicle.
Schieve, who is friends with Renner, was called when the accident occurred Sunday morning.
“He was helping someone stranded in the snow,” Schieve told the Gazette Journal.
“He is always helping others.”
Renner is a honorary Washoe County Deputy Sheriff and has “made a tremendous impact on this community,” Balaam said Tuesday, praising the actor in the short presser.
Renner's publicist, Samantha Mast, said on Tuesday that the actor was out of surgery and was stable having suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopaedic injuries.
His accident came days before rally icon and Top Gear star, Ken Block was killed in a snowmobile accident in Utah’s Wasatch County.
Dozens of people have died in recent weeks as the US has been battered with snowstorms. Sixty people were killed over the New Year weekend alone, across eight states. Thousands of homes have also been without power and travel has been severely disrupted.
Mast statement continued: "Jeremy's family would like to express their gratitude to the incredible doctors and nurses looking after him.
The family also thanked the local police and fire services, and said they were "tremendously overwhelmed and appreciative of the outpouring of love and support from his fans".
TMZ reported that Renner, 51, was aided by neighbours at the scene, one of whom was a doctor.
His family thanked "the Carano and Murdock families" in their statement.
Renner had shared updates previously on the amount of snow in his area, tweeting in December that "Lake Tahoe snowfall is no joke".
The actor was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor for his role in The Hurt Locker in 2008, and for best supporting actor in The Town in 2010.
