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Stuntman Dies After Incident on Set of ‘The Walking Dead’

Jul 14, 2017  •  Post A Comment

Stuntman John Bernecker, who was injured in a fall on the set of the AMC series “The Walking Dead,” has died. TMZ.com reports that Bernecker, 33, died in an Atlanta hospital Thursday evening.

“He was surrounded by friends and family, including his girlfriend [Jennifer Cocker], who is a stuntwoman on the show, when a ventilator was turned off,” TMZ reports. “A source tells us earlier the swelling in his brain seemed to go down at one point on Thursday, but then it swelled back up again.”

As we reported previously, production on “The Walking Dead” was shut down after Bernecker’s fall Wednesday afternoon. TMZ notes that he fell from balcony about 20 to 25 feet up.

Bernecker missed a safety cushion by inches, according to media reports, landing instead on the concrete.

“John had been on the ventilator since Wednesday, and the ME’s Office tells us his date of death is that day … July 12,” TMZ notes. “The cause of death is accidental blunt force trauma.”

The accident reportedly took place at Raleigh Studio in Senoia, Ga., about 35 miles south of Atlanta.

Bernecker had been doing stunt work in Hollywood for almost 10 years, including working on the movies “Black Panther,” “The Fate of the Furious,” “Get Out” and “Logan.”

Before Bernecker died, AMC issued a statement Thursday saying: “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.”

SAG-AFTRA was investigating the incident

Here’s a stunt reel featuring Bernecker, posted a year ago …

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