Jeremy Renner speaks out following snowplow accident, as sheriff's office details what happened

Two days after he was injured in a snowplow accident near his Reno, Nev. home severely enough that he had to be airlifted to a local hospital, actor Jeremy Renner updated the world on his condition.

"Thank you all for your kind words," he said Tuesday afternoon on his verified Instagram page. "Im too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all."

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Minutes after Renner shared his comments, Nevada's Washoe County Sheriff's Office gave an update on exactly what had happened to the Hawkeye star at a livestreamed news conference. Officials made sure to point out that were handling the major accident investigation as they would any other. They're continuing to conduct interviews and processing items from the scene.

"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," Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said. "Mr. Renner went to retrieve his PistenBully [snowplow] or snowcat, an extremely large piece of snow removal equipment, weighing at least 14,330 pounds, in an effort to get his vehicle moving. After successfully towing his personal vehicle from its stuck location, Mr. Renner got out of his PistenBully to speak to a family member. At this point, it is observed that the PistenBully started to roll. In an effort to stop the rolling PistenBully, Mr. Renner attempts to get back into the driver's seat of the PistenBully. Based on our investigation, it's at this point that Mr. Renner is run over by the PistenBully. An eyewitness detailed seeing Mr. Renner get into the PistenBully and not seeing him again until the PistenBully came to a rest in a pile of snow in front of his driveway. At this point in the investigation, we do not believe Mr. Renner was impaired at all, and we believe this is a tragic accident."

He added that the sheriff's office now has the PistenBully, which is being analyzed so they can rule out any mechanical failures or factors like whether the machine was supposed to be in park, as they would in any major investigation. They don't suspect any foul play, he said multiple times.

Renner was airlifted to a hospital just after the accident — Balaam noted that, because of the weather, it took longer than usual for first responders to reach him — where he underwent two surgeries. As of Tuesday, he was in critical but stable condition.

Balaam said Renner himself was in good enough condition to speak to first responders.

He also confirmed that Renner was being a "great neighbor" by plowing the private road.

On Tuesday, when a member of the media asked about Renner's importance to the community, Balaam noted that the star is an honorary deputy sheriff for the county.

"So when I took office in 2019, he came…" Balaam said. "His popularity amongst kids and Marvel, he has a huge impact. Those kids that he touched during [charity event] Shop with the Sheriff, he showed up to shop with our kids, I can guarantee they will never forget that moment that they got. He shared our time with us there and not only showed with a few kids, but interacted with the kids, so he's had a huge impact… but throughout the community he's been very generous. And he's one of those individuals that I can tell you, most of the time you don't know that he's doing it, but he has made a tremendous impact on this community."

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