John Bernecker, the stuntman who suffered massive head injuries in a fall Wednesday on the set of The Walking Dead, has died at Atlanta Medical Center.
The death was confirmed to Deadline by Coweta County Coroner Richard Hawk, who said Bernecker died of blunt force trauma at 6:30 PM ET on Wednesday.
A source at the hospital told Deadline earlier that Bernecker had been placed on a ventilator while his family made arrangements.
It’s believed to be the first stunt-related death in the United States in more than 17 years.
AMC said earlier today that it temporarily halted production on Season 8 of the zombie apocalypse series in the wake of the accident.
In 1996, Paul Dallas died of head injuries in a fall on the set of the TV series L.A. Heat.
Two years earlier, stuntwoman Sonja Davis was killed in a high fall on the set of the film A Vampire in Brooklyn. »