Jeremy Renner Shares Photo From Hospital Bed After Snowplow Accident

Jeremy Renner speaks onstage during the 35th Annual American Cinematheque Awards Honoring Scarlett Johansson at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Nov. 18, 2021. Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

Actor Jeremy Renner has publicly thanked his well-wishers after sustaining a traumatic injury following a snow plowing accident in Nevada on New Year’s Day.

Renner, 51, is now in a stable but critical condition, according to his representative. The “Avengers” star took to Instagram on Jan. 3 to share a photo of himself lying in the hospital and displaying prominent bruising on his face.

“Thank you all for your kind words. I’m too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all,” he wrote alongside the post.

Renner was airlifted to a Reno area hospital after officers from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported traumatic injury in the area of the Mt. Rose Highway at 9 a.m. on Jan. 1.

The actor has a home in Washoe County, Nevada.

According to the Mayor of Reno, Hillary Schieve, the actor had gotten out of a snowplow about a quarter mile from his Tahoe property to help a stranded driver, when the plow ran over him.

“He was helping someone stranded in the snow,” Schieve told the Reno Gazette Journal. “He is always helping others.”

Schieve told the publication that she and Renner are friends and described him as a charitable person who often donates to multiple causes in private.

Renner Sustained Blunt Chest Trauma

“There are a few times he’ll post about what he has done or donated toys, but most of it, you would never know he is doing,” Schieve said. “He’s always calling and saying, ‘Hey mayor, what do you need?’”

Renner’s publicist, Samantha Mast, told multiple outlets in a statement late Monday that the actor suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries and had undergone surgery. Mast added that he remained in the intensive care unit and was in a “critical but stable condition.”

The actor, who has a 9-year-old daughter, was the only person injured in the accident, according to local reports citing the sheriff’s office.

Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said in a press conference on Tuesday that the day prior to Renner’s accident, the Mt. Rose area saw three feet of snow, and “multiple cars” had been abandoned overnight.

While it was not snowing at the time of Renner’s accident, Balaam said the Mt. Rose Highway was closed owing to “severe winter weather” and snow had not yet been removed from the highway.

He added that the first sheriff’s department unit arrived on the scene at 9:30 a.m. local time on Jan. 1, noting that there was a delay in them reaching Renner because of the weather and abandoned cars on the highway, which was closed.

Emergency medical services were already at the scene when officers arrived, Balaam said.

Vehicles stranded along the Interstate 80 at the Nevada State line and Colfax, Calif., on Dec. 31, 2022. California Highway Patrol Truckee via AP

Renner ‘Making Positive Progress,’ Rep. Says

“Based on our investigation, Mr. Renner’s personal vehicle, which was being driven by a family member, had become stuck in the snow near his home. Mr. Renner went to retrieve his PistenBully, or snowcat, an extremely large piece of snowmobile equipment weighing at least 14,000 pounds, in an effort to get his vehicle moving,” Balaam said.

After successfully towing his personal vehicle from its stuck location, Renner got out of the snowcat to speak to his family member, and the massive snowmobile started to roll, according to the Sheriff.

“In an effort to stop the rolling PistenBully, Mr. Renner attempted to get back into the driver’s seat,” Balaam said. “Based on our investigation, it’s at this point Mr. Renner is run over by the PistenBully.”

Balaam said the incident was a “tragic accident” and investigators are examining the vehicle to see if there were any technical issues that may have caused it to roll.

The sheriff added that Renner was allowed to operate the snowcat as he was on a private road that was shared by his neighbors and not maintained by the county.

Renner’s accident came as the Reno area received around 6-12 inches of snow between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

Renner’s representative told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the actor is “making positive progress and is awake, talking, and in good spirits.”

“He remains in ICU in critical but stable condition. He is overwhelmed by the showing of love and support. The family asks for your continued thoughts while he heals with his close loved ones,” the representative added.

Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.