During rehearsals for the American game show ‘America’s Got Talent: Extreme’, a well-known TV stuntman was injured in a life-threatening manner on Thursday evening. It concerns the 41-year-old Jonathan Goodwin, an extreme daredevil who has also worked with Dutch illusionists.
Jonathan Goodwin was practicing his latest stunt on Thursday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, a race track in Hampton, Georgia. In a video shot from the set, the stuntman can be seen dangling from a rope, wedged between two cars a few feet away from him.
Giant fireball
The stunt was to free himself and avoid being crushed by the swinging cars. But for unknown reasons, Goodwin didn’t fall in time and landed between the two vehicles, causing an explosion. “The bang caused the cars to explode and ended up in a giant fireball. He fell to the ground and hit his head,” an eyewitness told the usually well-established entertainment website TMZ.
What happens next cannot be seen in the images, but Goodwin is seriously injured and is taken to hospital by helicopter in critical condition. “He had several cuts and serious injuries to his legs. He was transported in serious condition but is currently alive, approachable, and healthy,” a police spokesman told The Sun.
Rehearsals for the extreme edition of the well-known talent show have been stopped until Monday. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family as we await further updates on his condition,” a program spokesperson said in a written statement.
Known from TV
Goodwin, who comes from Wales, who has worked with, among others, the Dutch illusionist Sabine van Diemen, enjoys a reputation in the United States as a daredevil, an extreme daredevil. His biography on his website describes him as ‘a professional daredevil who put himself in the most extreme situations and avoided death every time’.
In one of his most dangerous stunts, the Brit hangs upside down in a straitjacket, is set ablaze, and from that position must reach a fire extinguisher. And within 30 seconds, or his clothes will overheat, and Goodwin will suffocate.
In recent years, Jonathan Goodwin has regularly appeared in various acrobatic stunt programs.
In 2013, the daredevil got his own show on British television entitled ‘The Incredible Mr. Goodwin’. The show featured a wide variety of stunts, from climbing skyscrapers to extreme planking. In 2019, the Briton made it to the final of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ with a stunt in which he was ‘buried alive’. Last year he appeared in ‘America’s Got Talent’ and had to settle for a spot in the semifinals.
‘America’s Got Talent: Extreme’ is a special edition for daredevils presented by actor Terry Crews. Judges include ‘Got Talent’ figurehead Simon Cowell, WWE superstar Nikki Bella, and rally driver Travis Pastrana. It is not clear when the program will air. Contestants compete for the top prize of half a million dollars.
