Production has paused on America’s Got Talent: Extreme after a freak accident left a contestant fighting for his life. The accident happened during a rehearsal for the show held on Thursday night and involved escape artist and stuntman Jonathan Goodwin. TMZ reports that Goodwin was suspended in mid-air between two cars while wearing a straight jacket and was meant to escape, but then things went terribly wrong.
- Goodwin was apparently smashed between the two cars. While it’s unclear exactly how the accident happened, Goodwin was reportedly hanging from a wire by his ankles 70 feet in the air. He was meant to get out of the straightjacket and then drop onto an air mattress below to avoid the cars crashing into him. However, the cars crashed before he could escape, leaving Goodwin sandwiched between them.
- When they collided, the cars exploded. After the cars crashed into Goodwin, the collision then sparked an explosion, leading to a “gigantic fireball.” Goodwin then fell to the ground and hit his head.
- Sources say they believed he was dead. Because Goodwin was initially unresponsive, many people on set believed he must have been dead. However, by the time emergency services arrived and he was airlifted to a hospital to be rushed into surgery, he was believed to be responsive again.
- His current condition is unknown. However, TMZ reports that he’s being held in a trauma unit and continues to recuperate. Here’s hoping he makes a full and speedy recovery and that an investigation is held to find out how things went so terribly wrong so that it never happens again.
