Yahoo News Jeremy Renner opens up in first interview since snowplow accident, shares 911 call: 'I chose to survive'
Jeremy Renner will open up about his traumatic snowplow accident for the very first time in a forthcoming ABC News interview with Diane Sawyer.
The Avengers star, who was crushed underneath his snowcat while attempting to rescue his nephew in January, discusses the incident in the first trailer for Jeremy Renner: The Diane Sawyer Interview – A Story of Terror, Survival and Triumph, which was released Wednesday. The full interview will air April 6, just days before the actor's home improvement series, Rennervations, lands on Disney+, on April 12.
In the clip Renner says he can still recall the entire harrowing experience and all of the pain he felt, adding, "I was awake through every moment."
Renner was operating a snowcat to rescue his nephew's vehicle on New Year's Day when the machinery began to slide, causing him to jump out of it without pulling the emergency brake. When it began to roll downhill toward his nephew, he attempted to stop the plow and was "pulled under the vehicle by the track and run over" in the process, per a sheriff's department report.
The 911 phone call made after the accident can be heard in the interview's trailer.
"Someone's been run over by a snowcat. Hurry. He's been crushed. There's a lot of blood over here," a person says. "He is in rough shape. Keep breathing, man. Keep fighting. Hang in there, brother." Renner can be heard groaning in pain in the background.
In the trailer, Sawyer also details the full extent of Renner's injuries from the accident, in which he broke eight of his ribs in 14 places and suffered from a collapsed lung. His liver was also pierced by one of his rib bones, and his right knee, right ankle, left leg tibia, left ankle, right clavicle, right shoulder, eye socket, and jaw mandible were broken. The clip also shows footage of Renner's ongoing recovery process as he uses a knee scooter and works out on a rowing machine.
ABC Jeremy Renner
"I chose to survive," Renner says about the experience. "It's not gonna kill me. No way."
After suffering such severe injuries, the actor admits that he was curious what his body looked like at the time. "Am I just going to be a spine and a brain like a science experiment?" he asks. In another moment, he becomes emotional when Sawyer reveals that he apologized to his family in sign language following the accident.
Describing himself as a "lucky man," Renner doesn't regret his decision to step in to protect his loved ones. "I'd do it again," he says. "Because it's going right at my nephew."
He adds, "I've lost a lot of flesh and bone in this experience, but I've been refueled and refilled with love and titanium."
Jeremy Renner: The Diane Sawyer Interview – A Story of Terror, Survival and Triumph will air April 6 on ABC.
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