Shocking footage has emerged of the moment a stuntman appearing on America's Got Talent was seriously injured after being slammed i...
Shocking footage has emerged of the moment a stuntman appearing on America's Got Talent was seriously injured after being slammed in between two exploding cars having misjudged his midair jump.
Jonathan Goodwin's stunt went wrong during a rehearsal of a new show, AGT: Extreme on Thursday night.
The clip, shot at the Atlanta Motor Speedway begins with professional stuntman hanging in midair as two cars are seen coming together.
The stunt was supposed to see the 41-year-old Welsh escapologist free himself and fall underneath the vehicles before they collided.
Jonathan Goodwin was performing a stunt on America's Got Talent: Extreme
Goodwin was being suspended between two elevated cars between which he was supposed to fall when they crashed together with him caught in the middle
Goodwin misjudged the jump and set himself up for a direct hit from both cars
In a split second clip, Goodwin can be seen moments before the cars slammed into him
Crew members on set reportedly thought Goodwin had been killed as a result of the fiery mishap, though he was responsive when rushed to the hospital
Incredibly Goodwin survived the accident but is now in hospital having had surgery
But he miscalculated his timing and ended up being caught in the middle, crushed as the metal chassis came together before a huge fireball erupted.
Goodwin then fell to the ground and hit his head. He was rushed to hospital in critical condition.
The stuntman, who competed on season 15 of America's Got Talent last year, was initially unresponsive but was found to be still clinging to life.
Goodwin was airlifted to hospital where he underwent surgery.
A recording of a frantic 911 was published by The US Sun on Friday in which a woman said: 'We are at the Atlanta Motor Speedway at the America's Got Talent filming location. We had a man suspended from a cable with cars that were supposed to slam into each other, and he didn't drop in time and they slammed into him.
'He's about a 40-year-old white male. He fell about 40 feet. He missed the airbag and landed on his head.'
A frantic 911 call has revealed that a daredevil stuntman on a new 'extreme' version of Simon Cowell 's America's Got Talent had landed on his head and cars slammed into him which left him close to death (Jonathan Goodwin pictured in 2016)
Extreme edition: Daredevil stuntman Goodwin was filming a new 'extreme' version of the Simon Cowell talent show
'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,' the show said in a statement
'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.'
Friend of the show: Jonathan Goodwin previously appeared on Britain's Got Talent
Goodwin has performed other similarly death-defying stunts on the show before.
In 2013, he wore a straightjacket and dangled from a blazing rope over the River Thames in London.
He was suspended upside down from the London Eye and managed to escape, which was all part of his TV series The Incredible Mr Goodwin.
The performer has also successfully completed other risky stunts in the past for the the flagship AGT series and has also been featured on its sister series in the UK, Britain's Got Talent.
After he was smashed in the middle of the fiery explosion, Goodwin fell to the ground and reportedly hit his head during the impact, leading some crew to assume he was dead, Here he is picture from The Illusionists in 2016
During his season 15 performance, Cowell and his fellow judges Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofía Vergara kept Goodwin in the competition through the semifinals.
His most dramatic stunt for AGT involved Godwin covering himself in flammable liquid and shackling himself up while put his head in a box so that he couldn't see.
He had to escape from the restraints in less than 20 seconds after he was set on fire.
Goodwin successful completed the stunt, which set several of the judges on edge, despite it being the first time he had ever attempted the death-defying act.
In contrast to his fiery stunts, Goodwin went underwater for the BBC special How Not to Become Shark Bait, in which he demonstrated by allowing a Caribbean reef shark to attack him.
During his season 15 performance, Cowell and his fellow judges Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofía Vergara kept Goodwin in the competition through the semifinals
In AGT season 15, Goodwin shackled himself and stuck his head in a box while he was engulfed in flames, yet he miraculously escaped despite having never practiced the stunt before
AGT's Terry Crews also hosts the new Extreme version of the competition series, while Simon Cowell, pro wrestler Nikki Bella and stuntman Travis Pastrana are judges.
Contestants on the new series are vying for a $500,000 prize, but taping is now paused, Deadline reports.
California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) is now looking into the accident, according to the publication.
Prior to Goodwin's failed stunt, NBC promoted his episode by saying it featured 'the most outrageous, unique and jaw-dropping acts of enormous scale and magnitude that simply cannot be confined to a theater stage,' according to People.
California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) is now looking into the accident and taping for the series has been paused
The accident augurs an unfortunate start to AGT: Extreme, which was just announced at the start of October.
So far, NBC hasn't announced a premiere date for the competition series, but Goodwin's injury may push back any intended premiere date.
Earlier this week, Goodwin sparked engagement rumors after he and his girlfriend, Sherlock star Amanda Abbington, went Instagram official after nine months of dating.
'That was possibly the longest game of hide and seek ever…. #FoundYa ❤️ ,' he sweetly captioned a photo of the two cuddling up.
The daredevil added a diamond ring emoji in his Instagram bio, leading fans to suspect he had popped the question to the 47-year-old actress, who was previously married to Black Panther's Martin Freeman.
Earlier in the week, Goodwin sparked engagement rumors after he and his girlfriend, Sherlock star Amanda Abbington, went Instagram official
Hints: The daredevil added a diamond ring emoji in his Instagram bio, leading fans to suspect he had popped the question to the 47-year-old actress