Celebrities Who Were Critically Injured In Accidents

We tend to forget that celebrities aren't real-life superheroes and fall victim to injury just like us. For example, actor Tom Cruise is known for performing his own stunts and understands the risks he could face by doing them. In 2017, Cruise broke his ankle during a rooftop chase for the movie "Mission: Impossible – Fallout." Thankfully, none of the stunts he has performed over the years have been life-threatening. But, then, there are those stars who post their minor injuries on social media – take Miley Cyrus for instance, who shared photos of cuts on her face and arm after being attacked by her cat, and how about The Rock, who may seem invincible, but while at the gym, showed off a cut near his eye that required stitches. 

While these stars almost speak proudly about their minor injuries, some celebs haven't been so lucky after they suffered severe injuries that required extensive surgery or even left them without a limb. Whether from significant car crashes, plane wrecks, and even a horrendous shark bite while surfing, the stars below faced critical injuries but lived to tell the tale.

"30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan's life changed forever when he was involved in a tragic car crash that left him in critical condition and his friend and comedian James McNair dead. According to The New York Times, on June 7, 2014, Morgan, his assistant, McNair, and two other comedians were in a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter when a Walmart truck slammed into their vehicle from behind and overturned their car on the New Jersey Turnpike. Only McNair died from his injuries, while Morgan suffered a traumatic brain injury and broken bones. The star spent two weeks in a coma and several months in a wheelchair and underwent extensive physical therapy, per Page Six. 

In June 2015, Morgan made his first television appearance since his crash on the Today show. He shared with Matt Lauer, "I have my good days and my bad days where I forget things," adding that he did not recall the crash. 

According to NJ.com, the tractor-trailer driver was Kevin Roper, who was awake for more than 24 hours when he hit Morgan's vehicle. Roper pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and four counts of assault, entered an intervention program, and had to perform 300 hours of community service. In an interview for New York magazine's Vulture, Morgan shared that he had forgiven Roper, stating, "I couldn't move forward if I ain't forgive him."

Actor Amy Schumer has one gnarly scar on her leg after a surfing accident that she proudly showed off on David Letterman's late-night show in 2015. Although she didn't go into detail, she would tell Vanity Fair the following year about the incident and how she believed it was her last day on Earth.

Schumer told the publication that she went out surfing during the winter and ended up with her surfboard fin piercing her leg. She managed to get out of the water, where she spotted a man who held her leg together to stop the bleeding, stating, "I was like, 'I need you to hold my leg.' I was delegating. And he held my leg closed with his bare hands – just fat and blood coming out.'" 

Schumer never got to see the man again but shared that with blood rushing out of her leg, she was afraid that sharks could have been lurking nearby. "But my thoughts while I was coming out – I remember them. I thought, Well, I'm going to die. I can't believe I'm going to die like this. Then, I'm like, Oh, no [I'm not going to die]- but I'm going to lose my leg," she said. The "I Feel Pretty" star ended up with forty-one stitches, which left a noticeable scar. 

"The O.C." wouldn't be the same if Rachel Bilson wasn't around to play Summer Roberts on the teen drama series. Speaking to The Mirror in 2008, the actor detailed a scary car crash she was involved in as a teen that could have taken her life. Thankfully, Bilson made it out alive.

Hanging out with the wrong crowd in Los Angeles, Bilson recalled the day she, a girlfriend, and two men were speeding on the Pacific Coast Highway when they crashed head-on with a truck. "We were in a tiny car and it was a pretty bad crash. They had to cut us out and I was in a coma for a few days. The crash ended that relationship, which is a good thing," the "Hart of Dixie" star said, adding that, fortunately, everyone survived the crash. 

The car crash might have been a wake-up call for Bilson, who would focus on her acting career soon after. In 2003, she began work on "The O.C." where she would meet her on-screen love interest and former boyfriend, Adam Brody. The pair split in late 2006. Bilson began to date her "Jumper" co-star Hayden Christensen in 2008, and they welcomed a daughter Briar Rose in 2014. They called it quits in 2017. The star was also romantically linked to Bill Hader in 2019, but the pair broke up in 2020, per Us Weekly. 

Niki Taylor was just about everywhere in the '90s. In 1996, famously known as the "Niki Six," the model graced six magazine covers in the same month, including Vogue. She was the youngest model to sign a contract with CoverGirl Cosmetics at 18 and was featured in over 300 magazines, per her website. However, a car crash in April 2001 had the model fighting for her life. 

According to ABC News, Taylor and her then-boyfriend Chad Renegar were in his car when he lost control and crashed into a utility pole in Atlanta, Georgia. While Renegar walked away from the vehicle with minor injuries, Taylor managed to get out of the car and lay on the ground until paramedics arrived, unaware that she had suffered severe internal injuries. When taken to the hospital, she learned that she had lost 80 percent of her blood, and her liver was cut in half. According to People, Taylor was in a coma for weeks and needed over 50 surgeries. One included putting two steel rods in her back to hold her spine together. 

According to Fox News, Taylor was given blood from over 300 donors to stay alive. The model even had the chance to meet 15 of them, stating, "I got to look them in the eyes and hug them." She has since become an American Red Cross ambassador and raised awareness about how vital it is to give blood.

Gloria Estefan is recognized worldwide for her songs like "Conga," "Don't Wanna Lose You," and "Rhythm is Gonna Get You," for which she performed with the group Miami Sound Machine before going solo. Estefan was already a mega star by the late '80s, so it shook fans around the globe when she was involved in a tour bus accident in 1990.

Recalling the crash with her daughter Emily Estefan and her niece Lili Estefan on "Red Table Talk: The Estefans," the songstress shared that she was on her tour bus with her husband, Emilio and their son, Nayib when a semi-truck rear-ended them on the Pennsylvania highway. Estefan, who was sleeping, found herself on the floor in extreme pain. She had broken her back. "I tried to get up. I had the taste of electricity in my mouth, that's the only way I can describe it," she said. "The pain was excruciating." Estefan needed surgery and had two titanium rods placed in her back. She required the use of a wheelchair with fears that she would never be able to walk again. Fortunately, she made a full recovery. 

Estefan told People that she believed it was the power of prayer from fans that helped her in her recovery. "I felt the consciousness of other human beings wishing me well and the power of that collective spirit," she explained. "So I'm convinced that thoughts create reality and that the thoughts that we've put out into the universe are going to manifest."

Angus Cloud's first-ever acting gig was playing Fezco on the HBO hit series "Euphoria." The actor was discovered while walking around Manhattan and was asked to come into a casting for a reading. Cloud had no idea how his life would drastically change after nabbing the role. Talking about his newfound fame, Cloud told Teen Vogue that he's still a regular person on the inside. "I don't want people to open doors for me like I'm a prince or some s***. I open doors for people, too, you know? But it's getting to a point where I'm uncomfortable with special treatment," he shared. 

Now a big star in Hollywood, fans have learned much more about Cloud's personal life, including an incident where the actor almost died after falling into a construction pit. He recalled that day, which turned out to be a Friday the 13th in 2013, with Variety. The actor talked about the noticeable scar on his head, which was the result of breaking his skull after he tumbled into a pit in California. Although the actor managed to get out 12 hours later and even took a bus home, it wasn't until his mother took him to the hospital that he learned he had severe internal injuries, including internal bleeding in his brain and a broken skull. Cloud lived to tell the tale but revealed that he suffered "minor brain damage."

George Clooney took home his first-ever Academy Award and his second Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the 2005 political thriller "Syriana." While it was a celebratory moment for the star, he recalled that working on the film left him with a terrible spinal injury that drove him to contemplate suicide. 

According to The Guardian, Clooney revealed that he suffered the injury while filming a scene for the film. He shared, "I basically bruised my brain. It's bouncing around my head because it's not supported by my spinal fluid." The actor was in constant pain for several months as doctors could not figure out what was causing his intense headaches. It became so painful Clooney considered taking his life, telling Rolling Stone, "I was at a point where I thought, 'I can't exist like this. I can't actually live.' I was lying in a hospital bed with an IV in my arm, unable to move, having these headaches where it feels like you're having a stroke, and for a short three-week period, I started to think, 'I may have to do something drastic about this.'" Thankfully, a doctor identified the problem, and the actor underwent multiple procedures to cure his headaches. 

In 2018, the actor sustained a few injuries from a motorcycle accident in Italy. Clooney told the Sunday Times he believed it was his last day on Earth after flying off his bike. However, he made a full recovery. 

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