Carrie Bernans — an actress and stunt performer whose credits include the recent movie musical The Color Purple, Black Panther, and Avengers: Endgame —has been hospitalized after she was struck during an alleged hit-and-run incident in New York City on New Year’s Day.
A representative for Bernans confirmed in a statement to EW that the new mother, 29, is in “critical but stable condition” after suffering several broken bones, chipped teeth, and facial injuries from the incident. They noted that her family is “grateful to God that her son was not with her and that he is safe.”
“She is receiving excellent care and has a long road of healing and rehabilitation ahead,” the statement concluded. “Her family kindly asks that you keep her in your thoughts and prayers at this time.”
The incident occurred after local authorities were notified of a physical altercation between a 44-year-old male driver and a 34-year-old female passenger inside of his vehicle between 33rd Street and 6th Avenue in Midtown at around 1:30 a.m. on Monday, the New York Police Department confirmed to EW.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Carrie-Bernans-010224-e59152e1143945e1ba3b3df9766565cf.jpg "'The Color Purple' stuntwoman Carrie Bernans seriously injured in hit-and-run incident (1)")
“Officers on foot attempted to deescalate the situation and ordered the male operator of the vehicle to put the vehicle into park,” the statement read. “The male failed to obey the officers' orders and fled westbound on 33rd Street before making a right turn onto 7th Avenue counter flow to traffic.”
“The Mercedes then turned onto westbound West 34th Street where he mounted the sidewalk and began traveling westbound,” it continued. “The male then struck a food cart and two 39-year-old female pedestrians, a 31-year-old female pedestrian, and a 29-year-old female pedestrian.”
The man then “mounted the curb onto the sidewalk again” and struck two police officers, two unoccupied parked vehicles, and a 2022 Toyota Camry in the roadway before officers were able to place him in custody, according to the release.It added that the pedestrians, as well as the female passenger, were all transported to NYC Health and Hospitals/Bellevue in stable condition. The officers, who were taken to a local hospital, are also in stable condition. An investigation is ongoing.
Bernans’ mother, Patricia Lee, shared several graphic images of her daughter’s injuries on her Instagram account on Monday. “She’s still in so much pain and can’t answer calls at this time, but appreciate the messages. This was a traumatic incident,” she captioned the post. “Please keep Carrie in your thoughts and prayers. She’s in so much pain but healing.”
Lee, who thanked all of the first responders who helped her daughter, said that Bernans and a friend were “walking near” the food stand when the man struck it. “It ended up knocking her unconscious and pended her under the stand,” she wrote. “She was under it unaware of what was happening. She have a few broken bones, fractures, & chipped teeth but thanking God that she’s alive. “
Now, Bernans is “holding onto an immense sense of gratitude for life itself," her mother said. “Despite the injuries sustained in the collision caused by a hit-and-run in NYC, she’s filled with hope and faith in the unfolding of a beautiful new chapter,” she added. “Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she navigate this path toward recovery and new beginnings. Just finished surgery.”
Her family has also set up a GoFundMe to cover teeth reconstruction, medical bills, therapy, childcare, groceries, and other financial support during her ongoing recovery.
Bernans later took to her Instagram Story to update everyone on her health and thank them for their well wishes. “I’m just hurting,” she said. “But I know God is good and God heals and it’s just a matter of time. Thankfully my surgery went well, had to get anesthesia… my teeth look cracked up, but it’s okay, it’s just cosmetic. It’ll get better.”
In a separate video, she added, “Y’all know I’m strong. I’m gonna be okay. It sucks. It hurts, but the setback will be the set up.”
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