Jeremy Renner is opening up about the near-fatal snowplow accident that changed his life. In his memoir My Final Breath, Renner details the harrowing experience that left him clinically dead for a brief moment. His firsthand account reveals a surreal experience of peace and detachment from the physical world during the ordeal.
The 54-year-old got run over by a 14,000-pound PistenBully Snowcat outside his Lake Tahoe home on New Year’s Day, 2023. He sustained multiple traumatic injuries, including broken bones, a collapsed lung, and blunt chest trauma. After getting airlifted to a hospital, he underwent emergency surgery. The actor recalled hearing every bone in his body crack as the machine crushed him.
Jeremy Renner recalls the moment he “died”
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Renner wrote that his heart rate slowed down as he lay in the snow, and then he felt himself die. He described the sensation as exhilarating peace, a place with no time, no space, and pure energy. He added that he could see his lifetime, which felt like witnessing everything at once, from a place of complete clarity and stillness.
Renner added that he experienced a two-way electric vision while in that state, describing the sensation as deeply spiritual and physically liberating. Renner claimed that in those few seconds, he did not experience pain, but just a feeling of connection.
Reflecting whilst looking ahead
Renner spent the better part of 2023 recovering from his accident, undergoing intense physical therapy to regain his strength. In an episode of The Tonight Show, he said that the ordeal gave him a new perspective, which he detailed in his memoir as the tale of a man changed not just physically, but mentally and spiritually.
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Renner now views the incident as both a tragedy and a wake-up call. He continues to act and advocate for resilience, using his tragic experience as a reminder of life’s fragility and beauty.