Report: ‘Walking Dead’ stuntman fell head-first on concrete

Mon, Jul 17, 2017 (8:25 a.m.)

SENOIA, Ga. — An assistant director told authorities a stuntman fatally injured during production of "The Walking Dead" fell head- and neck-first onto concrete about 22 feet (7 meters) below.

Coweta County coroner Richard Hawk has said 33-year-old John Bernecker was pronounced dead at 6:30 p.m. July 12. Hawk said Bernecker died from injuries suffered in the fall on the hit show's set in Senoia, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Atlanta.

A Coweta County Sheriff's Office report says assistant director Matthew Goodwin said Bernecker intended to fall onto a pad. Goodwin said Bernecker appeared to try to stop the fall by grabbing a railing but fell onto the ground a few inches from the pad.

Actor Austin Amelio told authorities Bernecker said he'd never done a fall from that high and seemed "a little nervous."

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