Jeremy Renner escaped injury from tree fall

The Avengers star Jeremy Renner escaped serious injury in 2008 when a vicious windstorm knocked a tree onto his mother's California house.

The actor was visiting his mom Valerie in Modesto when a violent storm swept through the area, sending a 50-foot (15-meter) tree tumbling to the ground and onto the home he had recently purchased for her.

He tells the National Enquirer, "I heard lots of noise and craziness. And I felt branches and broken glass on my neck, so I started running - even though I wasn't really sure what I was running from."

Fortunately The Hurt Locker hunk's mother was not at home when catastrophe struck.

Valerie adds, "Jeremy is my real-life hero - I'm so proud of him. I wasn't at home when it happened, but I'm sure he would have saved me."