'It's much worse than anyone knows'
Jeremy Renner's condition is far worse than has been previously reported following a New Year's Day snowplow accident, friends of the actor have said.
Renner was helping a stranded family member whose car broke down close to his home near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, when a 14,330-pound snowplow ran over him leaving the two-time Oscar nominee suffering chest trauma and orthopaedic injuries.
Following surgery the actor was said to be in a critical but stable condition, but reports on Tuesday suggest the Hawkeye star "nearly bled out" and "almost died" while waiting for help to arrive.
A source told
RadarOnline: "It's much worse than anyone knows. Jeremy is very aware of the fact that he almost died out there.
"The right side of Jeremy's chest was crushed, and his upper torso had collapsed. He also had a bad head wound that was bleeding and a leg injury."
Friends of the actor say it could take up to two years for him to recover.
The source added to RadarOnline: "Jeremy was in a lot of pain, and was having difficulty breathing.
"He knew he was in bad shape and that he might not make it out of this."
The source told the publisher that the damage to Renner's chest was so bad it had to be "reconstructed in surgery" and while he had so dar had two surgeries, Renner was "likely require more in the weeks ahead on his leg".
"Doctors tend to space out operations to allow time for the body's natural healing process to kick in, and that's the case here," the source said.
Last week Renner's sister, Kym, told told
People that the 52-year-old is working hard to restore his health with therapy in a hospital.
"If anyone knows Jeremy, he is a fighter and doesn't mess around," she said. 'He is crushing all the progress goals. We couldn't feel more positive about the road ahead."
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Earlier this month the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office revealed Renner was using the snow-clearing vehicle, a PistenBully, to free a vehicle of his, driven by a family member, from being stuck in snow when the accident happened around 9am.
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, Balaam said the PistonBully ran over him.
“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.”
“We don’t suspect any foul play,” Balaam added.
Renner is a 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 3 feet of new snow falling the night before.
Renner's accident came days before rally icon and Top Gear star,
Ken Block was killed in a snowmobile accident in Utah’s Wasatch County.
TMZ previously reported that Renner was aided by neighbours at the scene, one of whom was a doctor.
His family thanked "the Carano and Murdock families" in their statement.
The actor was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor for his role in The Hurt Locker in 2008, and for best supporting actor in The Town in 2010.
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