A stuntman on The Walking Dead was pronounced dead Thursday, one day after he was placed on life support following an on-set accident.
John Bernecker fell more than 20 feet off a balcony and onto a concrete floor, with the stuntman requiring air transport to an Atlanta hospital after suffering a traumatic head injury. Production on the zombie series eighth season was temporarily halted following the accident, Variety reports.
Bernecker died Thursday surrounded by friends and family and his girlfriend a Walking Dead stuntwoman when his ventilator was turned off, TMZ reports. Coweta County Coroner Richard Hawk listed the cause of death as accidental blunt force trauma and date of death as July 12th.
A SAG-AFTRA spokesperson said the guild is investigating the accident, which occurred at Georgias Raleigh Studio. Its unclear when production on the series will resume.
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 on Thursday. He was immediately transported to an Atlanta hospital and we have temporarily shut down production.
In addition to Walking Dead, Bernicker also worked on films like Logan, Get Out, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and the upcoming Black Panther film.