Good for him! A little easier on his body.

Craig R. Baxley actually went on to have a fairly successful career as a director. He made "Action Jackson" and many would probably remember the two Stephen King adaptions for television that he directed, "Storm Of The Century" and "Rose Red".

I wonder what they thought would happen with that stunt?? Geez, driving off a cliff like that pretty darn risky. I imagine the guy has had to deal with those injuries the rest of his life. Sad. But I trust Spielberg has taken care of his expenses (?).

So my source for information on the accident is Ray Morton's excellent "Making of Close Encounters" book. It doesn't actually say broken legs like I had remembered, but here is exactly what it says:
"The impact destroyed the car, and all of those watching felt certain that Baxley had been killed. As it turned out, he survived and was rushed to the hospital, where it was discovered that he had sustained a concussion, damaged his back and legs, and crushed his heel. Luckily he recovered, and the stunt ultimately stayed in the film."
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the making of "Close Encounters". It was a quick read and amazingly detailed.
My Top 5 Movies: "Dazed & Confused", "Close Encounters", "Vertigo", "Melancholia", "Rushmore"

Found this under IMDb's "trivia." Wonder which is true, head injury or broken legs?
"Stuntman Craig R. Baxley was injured during the sequence where the police cars are chasing the UFOs on a mountain road. This stunt called for him to skid around a turn, go through a fence and over an embankment, but Baxley was traveling too fast, and he overshot the area where he was supposed to land. His car landed too hard and, even though he was wearing a helmet, he received head injuries. He was hospitalized for several days."

No way! I'll have to look up the story on that. Talk about giving your all to your job!

In reality the stunt man who drove the car during that scene broke both legs when the car landed, which I think of every time I watch it, ouch!!
My Top 5 Movies: "Dazed & Confused", "Close Encounters", "Vertigo", "Melancholia", "Rushmore"