Walking Dead is known for its fantastic action scenes, and most of these death defying scenes are performed by Stunt Extras or the Stunt Doubles. John Bernecker was one such stuntman on the sets of Walking Dead, who met with a fall and the brute trauma became the cause of his death. The Coroner has confirmed that his death was accidental, this incident took place in Georgia. John slipped from a balcony and fell flat on the concrete floor which caused significant head injury.
This is not the first incident in Georgia, there have been several such cases in past few years that took place in the same region. Back in 2014, during filming Gregg Allman’s biopic, “Midnight Rider” there was a disturbing train accident that killed a stunt extra named Sarah Jones, and severely injured seven other crew members. All of them had to be hospitalized for more than ten days. Randall Miller, the director, had to plead guilty to manslaughter; as a result, he was jailed for two years. The investigation confirmed that basic risk avoidance and safety protocols were ignored.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (SAG-AFTRA) is extremely disappointed by these incidents in Georgia, and they have initiated a deep investigation into the factors responsible for the death of John Bernecker.
The show has stopped the production, and this may delay the 8th season of Walking Dead. Usually, production houses do not halt their work in these kinds of scenarios, but SAG-AFTRA has passed strict orders to cease any work on the sets of Walking Dead immediately. AMC Networks has given a statement on this incident, and it reads like this:-
“We are deeply saddened by this loss, and our hearts and prayers are with John’s family, friends and colleagues during this extremely difficult time,” AMC said in a statement Friday.”
Bernecker was a seasoned Stunt performer who had high visibility projects under his belt like “Fast & Furious” movie series, “Logan,” “Get Out,” etcetera. The executive producer of “The Walking Dead” series, Scott M. Gimple passed his condolences to Bernecker’s loved ones:-
“Our production is heartbroken by the tragic loss of John Bernecker. John’s work on ‘The Walking Dead’ and dozens of other movies and shows will continue to entertain and excite audiences for generations, We are grateful for his contributions, and all of us send our condolences, love, and prayers to John’s family and friends.”
