‘I was awake through every moment’: Jeremy Renner opens up about life-threatening snowplow accident
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Jeremy Renner says he “was awake through every moment” of the severe snowplow accident that landed him in the ICU with more than 30 broken bones.
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What is the Jeremy Renner, Diane Sawyer interview about?
In an interview with Diane Sawyer — Renner’s first televised interview since the Jan. 1 accident — the “Avengers” star opens up about getting run over by a 14,000-pound PistenBully near his home in Reno, Nevada.
“Do you remember the pain?” Sawyer asks in a trailer for the interview.
“All of it,” Renner responds. “I was awake through every moment.”
Following the accident, multiple reports noted that Renner sustained “blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries,” the Deseret News reported. In the new interview, Sawyer enumerates Renner’s many injuries — including eight ribs broken in 14 places; a broken right knee; a broken right ankle; a broken left tibia; a broken left ankle; a broken right clavicle; a broken right shoulder; and a collapsed lung.
A report from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office indicated that Renner was attempting to divert the PistenBully from his nephew after he towed his nephew’s truck out of the snow, per Entertainment Weekly.
“The PistenBully snow groomer began sliding, causing Renner to exit the vehicle without setting the emergency brake,” the report reads, per CNN. “Although the PistenBully had some mechanical issues, it is believed based on our mechanical inspection that the parking brake would keep the PistenBully from moving forward. When Renner attempted to stop or divert the PistenBully to avoid injury to (his nephew), he was pulled under the vehicle by the track and run over.”
“I’d do it again,” Renner said in the interview with Sawyer. “Because it’s going right at my nephew.”
In the new interview, Renner’s nephew recalls seeing his uncle in a pool of blood.
“I ran up to him,” he said with emotion. “I didn’t think he was alive.”
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The emotional trailer also provides audio of the 911 call, and Renner can be heard groaning in the background. The actor reportedly used sign language to tell his family “I’m sorry.” In the nearly three-minute trailer, Renner becomes emotional when Sawyer references this moment.
“I chose to survive,” he said. “I’ve lost a lot of flesh and bone in this experience, but I’ve been refueled and refilled with love and titanium.”
The trailer indicates that the interview doesn’t just focus on the harrowing accident, but will also give viewers a glimpse of Renner’s physical and emotional recovery — including the support of his family.
“Do you look in the mirror and do you see the same face?” Sawyer asks Renner at one point.
“No,” Renner responds. “I see a lucky man.”
When does the Jeremy Renner, Diane Sawyer interview air?
The hourlong interview, titled “Jeremy Renner: The Diane Sawyer Interview — A Story of Terror, Survival and Triumph,” will air April 6 at 9 p.m. MT on ABC.
The episode will stream the following day on Hulu, per The Hollywood Reporter.
The interview comes just a few days before Renner’s public appearance at the premiere of his new Disney+ show, “Rennervations,” the Deseret News reported.
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The four-part docuseries features Renner and expert builders traveling around the world to repurpose decommissioned government vehicles for communities in need. The show, which appears to have been filmed before Renner’s accident, has been “a driving force” in the actor’s recovery, per the Deseret News.
“I’ve been on this journey for many years, and I started in my community by building vehicles for people in need. But a few years ago, I thought, how can I plus this up and create a bigger impact on a whole community — and that’s what this show does,” Renner said in a news release about “Rennervations,” per CNN. “This is one of my biggest passions and it’s a driving force in my recovery, and I can’t wait for the world to see it.”
