Renner is an honorary sheriff and is said to have made a "tremendous impact" on his community.
Jeremy Renner was run over by a 14,000-pound (6350kg) Sno-Cat while talking to a family member on New Year's Day, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office has revealed.
The two-time Oscar nominee suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopaedic injuries and is still in intensive care after the
accident near his Mt. Rose home about 25 miles outside Reno.
Shortly before a press conference got underway, Renner posted a hospital-bed selfie, telling fans: “Thank you all for your kind words. I’m too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm-KZ1YPJe7/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=f75d2f0e-50c6-495b-90cd-32e52df153b2
The sheriff's office revealed Renner was using the snow-clearing vehicle - also known as a PistenBully - to free a vehicle of his, being driven by a family member, from getting stuck in snow when the accident happened at around 9am,
Deadline reports.
After Renner was able to free the car, Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said the actor got out of the PistenBully to talk to the family member and the machine started to roll.
Renner then tried to get back into the driver's seat, at which point the PistonBully ran over him, Balaam explained.
“An eyewitness detailed seeing Mr. Renner getting into the PistonBully, and not seeing him again until the PistonBully came to a rest in a pile of snow in front of his driveway," he stated.
“We don’t suspect any foul play."
The sheriff wished Renner a "full and speedy recovery" and said police do not believe the performer was "impaired at all".
"We believe this is a tragic accident," he added.
Renner is an honorary Washoe County Deputy Sheriff and has “made a tremendous impact on this community,” Balaam said, praising the actor.
Balaam noted the “severe winter weather” in the area where the accident occurred, with as much as three feet of new snow falling the night before.
The Hawkeye star underwent surgery following the accident and remains in the ICU in critical but stable condition.
Renner's publicist, Samantha Mast, said on Tuesday that the actor was
out of surgery and was stable having suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopaedic injuries.
His accident came a day before rally icon and Top Gear star
Ken Block was killed in a snowmobile accident in Utah’s Wasatch County.
TMZ reported that Renner, 51, was aided by neighbours at the scene, one of whom was a doctor.
The actor had shared updates previously on the amount of snow in his area, tweeting in December that "Lake Tahoe snowfall is no joke".
Renner was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor for his role in The Hurt Locker in 2008 and for best supporting actor for his part in The Town in 2010.
