John Bernecker suffers 'serious injuries' and has been hospitalized at an Atlanta hospital after he fell more than 20 feet onto a concrete floor on the show's set in Georgia.
- Jul 14, 2017
AceShowbiz - "The Walking Dead" temporarily shuts down production after a stuntman was injured in an accident on the set in Atlanta. As reported before, John Bernecker suffered a serious head injury and was taken to an Atlanta hospital after he fell more than 20 feet onto a concrete floor on Wednesday, July 12.
AMC says in a statement, "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. 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, who also worked on "24: Legacy", "Get Out", "The Fate of the Furious" and "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2", is currently being treated in intensive care at Atlanta Medical Center, a level 1 trauma center.
In an audio obtained by TMZ, an assistant director who made the 911 call said that Bernecker's "breathing heavily" and was bleeding from his head and nose after the impact. He was "barely conscious" at the time of the call.
His girlfriend/partner Jennifer Cocker wrote on Facebook, "John deserves to be seen by every neorusurgeon and doctor there is until one of them sees the life we all know he has in him and bring him back to us... THIS ISNT FAIR."
Messages of support have poured in from "The Walking Dead" family. Actress Lauren Cohan wrote on Twitter, "Dear Walking Dead Family, please keep John Bernecker, our stuntman and his family in your prayers today." Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd retweeted Cohan's tweet and added, "We are all praying for him, his family, friends, and colleagues."
Dear Walking Dead Family, please keep John Bernecker, our stuntman and his family in your prayers today. ❤️
— Lauren Cohan (@LaurenCohan) July 13, 2017
We are all praying for him, his family, friends and colleagues. https://t.co/03Kj5JLwun
— Gale Anne Hurd (@GunnerGale) July 13, 2017
Peter Zimmerman, who plays a Hilltop member Eduardo, posted, "Keeping John Bernecker and his family in my thoughts." Daniel Newman, who plays the Kingdom member Daniel, similarly wrote, "Huge prayers for our #WalkingDead stuntman John Bernecker & family now!"
Keeping John Bernecker and his family in my thoughts. #TWDFamily
— Peter Zimmerman (@IamPeterZ) July 14, 2017
HUGE Prayers for our #WalkingDead stuntman John Bernecker & Family now!
— Daniel Newmaη (@DanielNewman) July 14, 2017
