Jeremy Renner Didn't Die in 'Freak Escalator Accident,' Strange Rumor Is Totally Fake

A strange rumor has been going around about Jeremy Renner indicating that the actor died in a "freak escalator accident." This claim, however, is totally fake. According to Snopes, the rumor surfaced on Twitter, alongside a hashtag for "RIP Jeremy Renner." This got many fans, understandably, concerned, but Snopes has confirmed that it is a false rumor with no substantial evidence.

Renner is an actor and singer who is best known for his portrayal of Clint "Hawkeye" Barton in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He's also had notable roles in multiple films from the Mission: Impossible franchise, as well as critically acclaimed movies like The Hurt Locker, The Town, and Wind River. While he was not injured in an escalator accident, earlier this year Renner was involved in a snowplow accident at his Nevada home. On Monday, Jan. 2, the actor was run over by his snowplow truck and had to be transported to a hospital by helicopter. Once there, he was taken into emergency surgery.

Amid his recovery, Renner spoke with Diane Sawyer — per ET Canada — and shared his harrowing experience, as did his neighbors Rich Kovach and Barb Fletcher. "He had some blood coming out of his ears, his nose for sure. And then his eye, it looked like it had been pushed out," recalled Kovach, who was the one to call 911 when Renner was injured.

Fletcher added, "It was a horrible sound to listen to someone, just literally watching somebody die in front of you, and you feel so helpless," as portions of the phone call played. "This is the sound of someone that was dying," Kovach then said. Fletcher offered, "At one point, he just got [a] clammy feel to him, he turned this gray-green colour and I feel in my heart that I feel like we lost him for a second. He closed his eyes. And I just tried to keep him awake... I really feel he did pass away for a couple of seconds. I really do."

Kovach also noted the "amount of blood" Renner was losing concerned him, adding, "And then he was – he was just in such pain. And the sounds that were coming out of him – and there was so much blood in the snow. And then when I looked at his head it appeared to me to be cracked wide open. And I could see white, I don't know if that was his skull ... maybe it was just my imagination but that's what I thought I saw." Fletcher echoed his statements, saying that she witnessed "a lot of blood coming from [Renner's] head and just grabbed one of the towels... It was still folded and just applied pressure. I could tell he was really struggling to breathe." Thankfully, Renner seems to have made a near-full recovery.