Our thoughts are with John Bernecker’s loved ones and The Walking Dead family in the wake of this unthinkable tragedy.

The stuntman, who worked on the hit AMC series, was pronounced dead on Thursday, July 12, after falling from a 25-foot balcony onto a concrete floor. He was 33 years old. His cause of death was blunt force trauma and was ruled accidental. Production has been temporarily shut down in light of his untimely death.

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The incident took place at Raleigh Studio in Atlanta, GA, on Wednesday while filming for Season 8. Sources told Deadline that John was rehearsing a scene with an unidentified actor when the fall took place. According to TMZ, an assistant director called 911 and he was airlifted to Atlanta Medical Center’s ICU and placed on a ventilator.

The chilling 911 call revealed that John was “barely conscious” upon landing and he was “bleeding from his head and nose after the impact.”

“His neck is in the position where he landed,” the caller explained.

the walking dead amc
AMC

The Walking Dead.

The network released a statement to E! News at the time, which read, “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.”

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John was surrounded by loved ones at the time of his death, including his girlfriend, who also works on the show doing stunts. He also recently did stunts for motion pictures like Black Panther, Logan, Get Out, The Fate of the Furious and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.

The Walking Dead is due to return to the small screen in October.

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