Chase Stokes’ Outer Banks stand-in has been confirmed dead after a horrific early morning hit-and-run.
Netflix is currently filming in Charleston, South Carolina where Alexander “AJ” Jennings was cast to play Chase’s body double for the third season of the hit teen drama. It’s reported that AJ had moved from New York to South Carolina for filming — which means he was so far from home when he was taken.
According to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, the 22-year-old was walking along a local road in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Around 2:30am, he was hit by a vehicle — which promptly fled the scene. Shockingly, an eyewitness reported that a second vehicle hit the victim soon afterward and also fled the scene.
Just awful… No one could do the decent thing and stop and help??
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AJ was transported to Medical University of South Carolina where he unfortunately succumbed to his injuries. He died at 3:13am — only 43 minutes after the initial hit. So tragic…
First to break the news of Jennings’ passing was his casting agency Kimmie Stewart Casting. Their heartbreaking Facebook post reads:
“It is with great sadness that I share on Tuesday Alexander “AJ” Jennings’ mother informed me of his tragic death. Outer Banks crew & cast suffered a terrible loss when AJ was stuck by two cars, that fled the scene early this morning. AJ was a beautiful, kind soul & a bright light every day on set. He moved to Charleston from New York to work as our John B photo double/stand in this season. I cannot fathom the shock and tragedy of AJ’s sudden loss and our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time.”
The post also added that Netflix HR was offering grief counseling to anyone that “met and became fast friends” with him before his tragic death and stated that they are at “a loss for words” regarding how this happened.
Chase himself opened up in an Instagram story Wednesday about how the loss of his new friend and coworker caused his heart to “shatter”:
“Still trying to process why certain things happen, and why the world works in the ways that it does. My heart is shattered. Your life was just starting.”
The actor went on to say just how good of friends he had become with AJ in such a short time, detailing how his heart was always “warmed” by his stand-in’s selflessness:
“We JUST talked about how pumped you were about your tunes, how far you’d come with that ole 6 string and your want to keep creating art. Always, always making others hearts warm and being so damn selfless.”
Chase ended his emotional post with “fly high angel”…so so sad…
According to ABC News 4, the second vehicle in the hit-and-run has been successfully identified and was caught in a traffic stop — but the first car has still not been found as of this writing. The case is still ongoing and no charges have been filed.
Such a gut-wrenching loss of someone so young and full of life. Our hearts go out to AJ’s family and loved ones, as well as the entire Outer Banks cast and crew.
R.I.P.
[Image via MEGA/WENN/YouTube/Netflix]
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