Stuntman ‘Agonal & Posturing’ After Severe Accident on AGT

AGT Performers 2021

NBC Here's what you need to know about Jonathan Goodwin's accident on "America's Got Talent."

A well-known stuntman nearly lost his life during a stunt-gone-wrong on “America’s Got Talent: Extreme” on October 14, 2021.

Stuntman Jonathan Goodwin “suffered brutal injuries after a stunt he accepted went horribly wrong, and it was so bad people on the set thought he wad dead,” according to TMZ. The accident took place at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where the spinoff show created by “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell, “America’s Got Talent: Extreme,” has been filming, People reported.

According to TMZ: “Production sources tell TMZ … Goodwin was suspended 70 feet in the air in a straitjacket hanging by his feet from a wire. Two cars were suspended on either side of him … swinging back and forth. The stunt was for Goodwin to free himself from the restraints and then fall on an air mattress, and avoid getting crushed by the cars as they swung in the air.”

“Goodwin was unresponsive at first,” TMZ reported, but he regained consciousness “while being airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he underwent surgery.”

According to Hollywood Life, Goodwin lives in Las Vegas and is a single father to his daughter, Milligan.

Production was paused after the accident, according to USA Today.

Here’s what you need to know:


Goodwin Was ‘Sandwiched’ Between 2 Cars

According to TMZ, the incident occurred when “something went terribly wrong, and the cars smashed together, sandwiching Goodwin in between them.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that the “impact caused an explosion and Goodwin fell from the air, hitting his head.”

TMZ obtained a video of the “gut-wrenching” accident and audio of the 911 call. The caller tells the dispatcher of Goodwin, “He’s got an open tib-fib fracture, he’s agonal and posturing, we need a rescue and a helicopter” – “a term used for patients close to death, struggling to breathe and making unnatural movements,” the outlet reported. The caller says Goodwin “fell about 40 feet, missed the airbag, landed on his head. … He’s posturing with a neuro injury.”

People reported that Goodwin, “The Daredevil,” was hospitalized.

A spokesperson for the show shared with media, “During a rehearsal last evening for ‘America’s Got Talent: Extreme,’ an accident occurred in which escape artist Jonathan Goodwin was injured while performing his act. … He was responsive and was immediately taken to the hospital where he is continuing to receive medical care. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family as we await further updates on his condition.”

Police told The Sun that Goodwin “suffered severe injuries to his legs and several lacerations, and was airlifted to Grady Hospital” in Atlanta. They indicated “there are no plans for a criminal investigation at this time,” the outlet reported.


Goodwin Competed on Season 15 of ‘America’s Got Talent’

This isn’t The Daredevil’s first time competing on “America’s Got Talent.” Goodwin competed on the show on Season 15 in 2020 and advanced all the way to the semifinals. According to People, he was also a finalist on “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2019.

Hollywood Life reported that Goodwin is an “accomplished knife thrower, archer, escape artist, martial artist, free diver, and free climber.”

The performer even had his own series — “The Incredible Mr. Gooodwin“– which aired one season in the United Kingdom in 2013.

IMDb’s synopsis of the show reads:

Impossible is merely a challenge for Jonathan Goodwin, a new breed of escapologist and a professional dangerman, who puts himself in the most extreme situations. Emulating his childhood heroes, the great American sideshow acts and comic-book characters, Goodwin takes his unique brand of entertainment onto the streets of Britain and the US. He’ll climb buildings, get buried alive, catch arrows and fire a rifle blindfolded in front of stunned onlookers. But viewers will get to know him even better, witnessing the extraordinary processes Goodwin goes through behind the scenes as he trains intensively for his performances, many of which have never been attempted before.

Goodwin has also appeared on “One Way Out” and “How Not to Become Shark Bait,” both on the Discovery Channel.

A premiere date has not yet been set for “America’s Got Talent: Extreme.” However, People reported that the show’s winner will walk away with $500,000.