"Walking Dead" stuntman John Bernecker, 33, was killed by an accident on Wednesday on the television series' set in Georgia. He died Thursday night after his family decided to take him off life support.
According to fairly reliable Gossip Cop, Bernecker had been put on a ventilator, and medical tests showed significant swelling in his brain. His family made their decision on Thursday and by his side when he died was his girlfriend, Jennifer Cocker, who also works on “The Walking Dead” as a stunt woman.
Bernecker, a veteran Hollywood stuntman with numerous movies to his credit, suffered a head injury after falling more than 20 feet onto a concrete floor, reported Variety. A medical helicopter transported Bernecker to the Atlanta Medical Center, said Deadline.com.
Sources told Deadline.com that Bernecker was rehearsing a fight scene with another actor that was expected to end in a routine fall from a balcony, but the stuntman lost his balance and fell to a concrete floor.
"We are saddened to report that John Bernecker, a talented stuntman for 'The Walking Dead' and numerous other television shows and films, suffered serious injuries from a tragic accident on set," AMC said in a statement, before his death, per Variety. "He was immediately transported to an Atlanta hospital and we have temporarily shut down production. We are keeping John and his family in our thoughts and prayers."
Bernecker's movie credits include "Olympus Has Fallen," "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2," and "Logan." He had also worked on upcoming movies such as Marvel's "Black Panther," and "Rampage," starring Dwayne Johnson.
Before Bernecker had died, a Screen Actors Guild-AFTRA spokesman had already told The Hollywood Reporter that it planned to look into the accident.
"We have been informed of a serious injury to a SAG-AFTRA member on the set of 'The Walking Dead' and are investigating the situation. As always, the safety and security of our members and others on set is of crucial concern to us and we are focused on this in our investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the performer and his family."
Last Saturday, a voiceover actor on the "Walking Dead" prequel series "Fear the Walking Dead" was killed during a skydiving accident in Texas, according to the Houston Chronicle. Randy Schell fell to his death after colliding with fellow skydiver Denis Wolf during a planned group jump at Skydive Spaceland near Houston and was likely knocked unconscious.
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