star has shared his ‘heart is shattered’ following the death of his stunt-double Alexander ‘AJ’ Jennings, aged 22.
The actor’s stand-in was Ki**ed in a hit-and-run crash involving two cars on Tuesday, July 5, in North Charleston, South Carolina, where the cast and crew have been filming the third season of the hit Netflix show.
On his Instagram stories, Stokes, who plays John B on the show, shared a powerful statement expressing his grief.
He wrote: ‘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.
‘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.’
The 29-year-old actor then added: ‘I wish I had more words to say right now, but the past day has been a struggle to say the least.
‘We all love you, you touched all of our lives and made us all better people, and for that – Thank you AJ. Fly high angel.’
Stokes’ heartfelt post followed a statement from Kimmie Stewart Casting that read: ‘It is with great sadness that I share on Tuesday Alexander ‘AJ’ Jennings’ mother informed me of his tragic death.’
The statement continued: ‘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 agency added that Netflix was offering grief counselling to those who needed it.
The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that AJ was walking along a road in North Charleston in the early hours of Tuesday morning when he was struck by two cars which both allegedly left the scene after the accident.
He was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died. Members of the police force’s Traffic Services Unit are investigating the crash.
Filming for Outer Banks season three began earlier this year, after it was announced in December that the show would be returning following the popularity of the first two seasons.
Outer Banks is available to watch on Netflix.
