Jeremy Renner nearly died from snowplow accident, source says

Jeremy Renner cheated death when a snowplow crashed into his chest during a horrible accident in January that left him having to undergo emergency surgery.

The accident happened a week before the actor celebrated his birthday on Jan. 7. His spokesperson had announced that he underwent "blunt chest trauma and orthopedic surgeries" following the accident that happened on Jan. 1 at his Lake Tahoe ranch.

He was reportedly helping a family member get their car out of heavy snow using the 14,330-pound Snowcat. He got out of the vehicle to chat with the family member when the vehicle started to roll and he attempted to get back into the driver's seat but ended up getting crushed instead.

TMZ obtained the 911 call log that stated the severity of the injuries he sustained, including bleeding from the head, a leg injury, and "extreme difficulty" breathing. The scariest part was the fact that his right chest and his upper torso had collapsed from being "completely crushed" by the snowplow.

Now sources are saying that Renner could have bled to death there on the spot had it not been for the help of his neighbours who made sure to keep him awake while they waited for an airlift to the nearest hospital.

"It's much worse than anyone knows. Jeremy is very aware of the fact that he almost died out there," an insider told Star magazine in its Jan. 30 issue adding, "He knew he was in bad shape and that he might not make it out of this."

Fortunately, a neighbour tied a tourniquet around his leg to stop the bleeding and prevent him from going into shock. The source said it saved his life and had he been alone at that time he "would have died from the blood loss alone." It was touch and go but the people who were there with Jeremy just kept talking to him" as they waited for the helicopter.

Renner reportedly suffered substantial damage to his chest from the snowplow accident and it had to be reconstructed in surgery. Friends are saying that he has at least two years before he could be back in fighting shape and may have to undergo more surgeries.