Jon Bernecker Dies; The Walking Dead Stuntman Was Only 33

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Jon Bernecker has passed away after suffering an on-set injury during the production of The Walking Dead Season 8. 

It was reported yesterday that the 33-year-old stuntman suffered a severe head injury on Wednesday after a fall of 30 feet onto a concrete floor. 

The accident occurred at Raleigh Studios in Georgia.

Jon Bernecker Pic

Bernecker was swiftly airlifted to Atlanta Medical Center and placed on a ventilator. TMZ has now confirmed Bernecker passed away on Thursday night with his friends and family at his side. 

His girlfriend, who is also a stunt performer on the hit AMC series was also with him. According to the report by TMZ, "the swelling in his brain seemed to go down at one point on Thursday, but then it swelled back up again."

When news of the accident broke, AMC reached out to Deadline via a statement to confirm the incident, while revealing that production would be temporarily halted. 

"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."

Jon Bernecker Pic 2

"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 revealed shortly after the news broke of the incident that they were investigating it. 

"We have been informed of a serious injury to a SAG-AFTRA member on the set of The Walking Dead and are investigating the situation," the union revealed in a statement.

"As always, the safety and security of our members and others on set is of crucial concern to us, and we are focused on this in our investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the performer and his family."

Before the stuntman passing away, cast and crew members from the series showed their support via social media. 

Lauren Cohan (Maggie Green) led the charge, saying: "Dear Walking Dead Family, please keep John Bernecker, our stuntman, and his family in your prayers today."

Executive producer, Gale Anne Hurd retweeted Cohan's message, accompanied by the following: 

"We are all praying for him, his family, friends, and colleagues," Hurd wrote.

"Keeping John Bernecker and his family in my thoughts," Said cast member, Peter Zimmerman. 

Daniel Newman also extended his prayers to Bernecker.

"Huge prayers for our #WalkingDead stuntman John Bernecker & family now!" he wrote.

It's unclear at this stage what this means for production of the series. It's currently on a temporary hiatus, but an investigation could take some time to complete. 

The show generally debuts in October, but we'll keep you up to date on any updates on the matter. 

Cast and producers of the post-apocalyptic drama will make their way to Comic-Con in San Diego next week. 

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.

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