Jeremy Renner, best known for his role as Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has opened up about the harrowing details of his near-fatal snowplow accident that occurred on New Year’s Day 2023. In his newly released memoir, My Next Breath, Renner reveals that he actually died during the incident, a moment he describes with chilling clarity.
On that fateful day, Renner attempted to save his nephew, Alex Fries, from being crushed by his 14,000-pound PistenBully snowplow. As he rushed to intervene, he lost control and was ultimately run over by the massive machine. The impact left him with catastrophic injuries, including more than 30 broken bones, a punctured lung, and a lacerated liver.
Reflecting on his experience, Renner writes, "As I lay on the ice, my heart rate slowed, and right there, on that New Year’s Day, unknown to my daughter, my sisters, my friends, my father, my mother, I just got tired. After about 30 minutes on the ice, of breathing manually for so long, an effort akin to doing 10 or 20 push-ups per minute for half an hour … that’s when I died." His heart rate had reportedly bottomed out at just 18 beats per minute when the emergency medical technicians (EMTs) arrived, a rate he describes as "basically dead."
Renner's memoir details the moments he believes he briefly died, stating, "When I died, what I felt was energy, a constantly connected, beautiful and fantastic energy. There was no time, place, or space, and nothing to see, except a kind of electric, two-way vision made from strands of that inconceivable energy." He described the experience as one of peace, stating, "I could see my lifetime. I could see everything all at once. In death there was no time, no time at all, yet it was also all time and forever."
The actor lay in the icy driveway for approximately 45 minutes while his nephew and neighbors attempted to provide aid before help arrived. During this time, he lost six quarts of blood and faced the immediate threat of hypothermia due to the freezing temperatures in Reno, Nevada, where he was celebrating the holidays with family.
In his memoir, Renner vividly recalls the physical sensations he endured: "I could see my left eye with my right eye," he writes, a gruesome result of the injuries he sustained. "The truth was that my collapsed rib cage and my broken and dislocated shoulder and collarbone had worked to compress my lung to the point of suffocation." Despite the severe injuries, Renner expressed no regrets about his actions to save his nephew, stating, "I had to do something. In those lightning-fast seconds, his life hung in the balance. If that machine was to hit him, it would have crushed him to death, no question."
After being airlifted to a local hospital, Renner underwent multiple surgeries to repair the extensive damage. He was discharged after two weeks but faced a long road to recovery, which he documented on social media. He described the first thing he did upon returning home as having a glass of red wine, followed by setting up a comprehensive rehabilitation regimen that included various exercises and equipment to aid his recovery.
Reflecting on his journey, Renner emphasized the lessons learned from his experience. He stated, "The act of writing it is – what I want people to take away from the book is getting out of your own way is quite important to achieve and get anything you want in your life, and that's the lesson that I had to learn to get out of my own way and share the story because I knew it was valuable."
Renner's memoir, My Next Breath, was officially released on April 29, 2025, and has garnered attention not only for its gripping account of his accident but also for its deeper reflections on life, love, and resilience. The actor's journey serves as a powerful reminder of the fragility of life and the importance of family and connection.
As he continues to recover and return to his career, Renner's story resonates with many who have faced their own challenges. His determination to share his experience, despite the pain it revisits, highlights the strength of the human spirit and the potential for growth even in the darkest of times.
