Stuntman Ryan Shepard who worked with the Slim Shady early in the rapper's career passed away at the age of 40 from fatal injuries after being hit by a truck.
- Feb 15, 2023
AceShowbiz - Eminem's stunt double Ryan Shepard has passed away aged 40. The stuntman, who served as a stand-in for the 50-year-old rapper early in his career after the release of 1999 album "The Slim Shady LP", lost his life on January 31 after being hit by a truck while crossing the road.
A preliminary investigation into his passing shows the accident happened as he stepped into a roadway in Kennewick, Washington, PEOPLE magazine reports. It's said in the Kennewick Police Department's report the truck driver stayed at the scene after the accident and was not impaired at the time.
Shepard was taken to a local hospital where he died after suffering undisclosed injuries. The Kennewick Police Traffic sector is still investigating the incident.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Shepard worked with Eminem for four years as his stunt double and stand-in for some early performances, including the 2002 MTV Movie Awards as superhero clone Rap Boy and the rapper's Anger Management Tour the same year.
He accompanied him on both the European and Japanese legs of the tour and also starred in D12's "Purple Pills" as well as appearing in some of his other music videos. He left the star's Shady Records label in 2005 and worked for Walt Disney Imagineering as a mechanical ride engineer while he also joined SpaceX as a test automation engineer.
According to TMZ, he is survived by two young children, aged seven and 11.
The Tri-City Herald reported that Shepard's death was the second fatal crash near the area in the past four years. In 2019, a station wagon collided with an 82-year-old pedestrian with the authorities suggesting the incident was caused by rain and darkness.
