Accidents that resulted in deaths on movie and TV sets

Brandon Lee on the set of The Crow

Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993) was an American actor and martial artist. He was the only son of martial artist and film star Bruce Lee. As a child from visiting his father's sets, who at the time was a major martial arts film leading man, Lee developed the desire to become an actor. Lee was 8 years old when his father died, becoming an iconic figure of both the art and the film genre he specialized in. Lee pursued his goal of being a thespian, he then studied the craft at the Emerson College and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Wanting to escape his father's image to become a dramatic actor, Lee figured that acting in action-oriented films would eventually lead him to other types of roles. After a stint doing local theater, Lee made his screen debut opposite David Carradine in the 1986 ABC's television film Kung Fu: The Movie, a spin-off of the 1970s television series Kung Fu, where he received second billing and starred in his first leading role in Ronny Yu's Hong Kong action film Legacy of Rage that same year.

Shortly after, on television, Lee played a lead in the pilot Kung Fu: The Next Generation (1987), guest-starred in an episode of the television series Ohara (1988). Following this, Lee was the lead in the low budget action film Laser Mission (1989), the US direct to video release of it proved to be financially successful. In the 1990s, he started working with major Hollywood studios and his first American theatrical release was the Warner Bros' buddy cop action film Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), directed by Mark L. Lester and co-starring Dolph Lundgren. By critics described it as an overwhelmingly silly action film and didn't like it upon release, but found appreciation in retrospect for that same reason. This was followed by the leading role in Dwight H. Little's Rapid Fire (1992) produced by 20th Century Fox, where Lee also did the fight choreography. While some critics liked the film, most felt the script was too simple, however almost all described Lee to be charismatic, in a slick Hollywood action film.

In 1992, he landed his most notable role as Eric Draven in Alex Proyas's The Crow (1994), based on the comic book of the same name, which would be his final film.

In 1993  Lee landed the lead role in the film adaptation of Alex Proyas' The Crow based on a popular underground comic book. The film tells the story of Eric Draven (Lee), a rock musician who is revived from the dead by a supernatural crow to avenge his own death as well as the rape and murder of his fiancée by a dangerous gang in his city. Lee was accidentally wounded on set during filming by defective blank ammunition and later died in the hospital during surgery. After Lee's death, his fiancée and his mother supported director Alex Proyas' decision to complete The Crow. At the time of Lee's death, only eight days were left before completion of the movie. A majority of the film had already been completed with Lee, and he was only required to shoot scenes for three more days. To complete the film, stunt double Chad Stahelski, served as a stand-in; special effects were used to give him Lee's face. Another stunt double, Jeff Cadiente, was also used to complete Lee's unfinished scenes for the movie.

Death

On March 31, 1993, Lee was filming a scene in The Crow where his character is shot and killed by thugs. In the scene, Lee's character walks into his apartment and discovers his fiancée being beaten and raped. Actor Michael Massee's character fires a Smith & Wesson Model 629 .44 Magnum revolver at Lee as he walks into the room.  A previous scene using the same gun had called for inert dummy cartridges (with no powder or primer) to be loaded in the revolver for a close-up scene. (For film scenes that utilize a revolver where the bullets are visible from the front and do not require the gun to actually be fired, dummy cartridges provide the realistic appearance of actual rounds.)

Instead of purchasing commercial dummy cartridges, the film's prop crew created their own by pulling the bullets from live rounds, dumping the powder charge and then reinserting the bullets. However, they unknowingly or unintentionally left the live primer in place at the rear of the cartridge. At some point during filming, the revolver was apparently discharged with one of these improperly deactivated cartridges in the chamber, setting off the primer with enough force to drive the bullet partway into the barrel, where it became stuck (a condition known as a squib load). The prop crew either failed to notice this or failed to recognize the significance of this issue.

In the fatal scene, which called for the revolver to be fired at Lee from a distance of 3.6–4.5 meters (12–15 feet), the dummy cartridges were exchanged with blank rounds, which feature a live powder charge and primer, but no bullet, thus allowing the gun to be fired without the risk of an actual projectile. However, since the bullet from the dummy round was already trapped in the barrel, this caused the .44 Magnum bullet to be fired out of the barrel with virtually the same force as if the gun had been loaded with a live round, and it struck Lee in the abdomen, mortally wounding him.  He was rushed to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he underwent six hours of surgery.

Attempts to save him were unsuccessful, and Lee was pronounced dead on March 31, 1993 at 1:03 pm. EST. He was 28 years old. The shooting was ruled an accident due to negligence.  Lee's passing resulted in the reemerging conspiracies surrounding his father's early death. Lee's body was flown to Jacksonville, North Carolina, where an autopsy was performed. He was then flown to Seattle, Washington, where he was buried next to his father at the Lake View Cemetery in a plot that Linda Lee Cadwell had originally reserved for herself. A private funeral took place in Seattle on April 3, 1993. Approximately forty individuals attended. The following day, 200 of Lee's family, friends, and business associates attended a memorial service in Los Angeles, held at the house of actress Polly Bergen. Notable guests included Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, David Hasselhoff, Steven Seagal, David Carradine, and Melissa Etheridge.

The gravestone, designed by North Snohomish County sculptor Kirk McLean, is a tribute to Lee and Hutton. It is composed of two twisting rectangles of charcoal granite which join at the bottom and pull apart near the top. "It represents Eliza and Brandon, the two of them, and how the tragedy of his death separated their mortal life together", said his mother, who described her son, like his father before him, as a poetic, romantic person.

Martha Mansfield on the set of The Warrens of Virginia

Martha Mansfield (born Martha Ehrlich, July 14, 1899 – November 30, 1923) was an American actress in silent films and vaudeville stage plays.

Death

On November 29, 1923, while working on location in San Antonio, Texas on the film The Warrens of Virginia, Mansfield was severely burned when a tossed match ignited her Civil War costume of hoop skirts and flimsy ruffles. Mansfield was playing the role of Agatha Warren and had just finished her scenes and retired to a car when her clothing burst into flames. Her neck and face were saved when leading man Wilfred Lytell threw his heavy overcoat over her. The chauffeur of Mansfield's car was burned badly on his hands while trying to remove the burning clothing from the actress. The fire was put out, but she sustained substantial burns to her body.

She was rushed to a hospital where she died the following day of "burns of all extremities, general toxemia and suppression of urine".  Mansfield was 23years old. Accompanied by actor Phillip Shorey, Mansfield's body was transported back to her home in New York City. She was interred at the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx. It was never determined who threw the match that ignited Mansfield's clothing. Some witnesses said they saw a match enter through the window of the car Mansfield was sitting in. Another theory was that a nervous Mansfield decided to smoke a cigarette in the car to calm her nerves and accidentally ignited the dress with a dropped match or a cigarette. Mansfield's mother, Harriett Ehrlich, dismissed this theory as she said smoking made her daughter "uncomfortable".

Jon Erik Hexum on the set of Cover Up

Jon-Erik Hexum November 5, 1957 – October 18, 1984) was an American actor, known for his lead roles in the TV series Voyagers! and Cover Up, and his supporting role as Pat Trammell in the biopic The Bear. He died by an accidental self-inflicted blank cartridge gunshot to the head on the set of Cover Up.

Death

On October 12, 1984, the cast and crew of Cover Up were filming the seventh episode of the series, "Golden Opportunity," on Stage 17 of the 20th Century Fox lot. One of the scenes filmed that day called for Hexum's character to load bullets into a .44 Magnum handgun, so he was provided with a functional gun and blanks. When the scene did not play as the director wanted it to in the master shot, there was a delay in filming. Hexum became restless and impatient during the delay and began playing around to lighten the mood. He had unloaded all but one (blank) round, spun it, and—simulating Russian roulette—he put the revolver to his right temple and pulled the trigger, apparently unaware of the danger.

Blanks use paper or plastic wadding to seal gunpowder into the cartridge, and this wadding is propelled from the barrel of the gun with enough force to cause injury if the weapon is fired within a few feet of the body, particularly a vulnerable spot, such as the temple or the eye. At a close enough range, the effect of the powder gasses is a small explosion, so although the paper wadding in the blank that Hexum discharged did not penetrate his skull, there was enough blunt force trauma to shatter a quarter-sized piece of his skull and propel the pieces into his brain, causing massive hemorrhaging.

Hexum was rushed to Beverly Hills Medical Center, where he underwent five hours of surgery to repair his wounds  On October 18, six days after the accident, Hexum was declared brain dead. With his mother's permission, his body was flown to San Francisco on life support, where his heart was transplanted into a 36-year-old Las Vegas man at California Pacific Medical Center.Hexum's kidneys and corneas were also donated: One cornea went to a 66-year-old man, the other to a young girl. One of the kidney recipients was a critically ill five-year-old boy, and the other was a 43-year-old grandmother of three who had waited eight years for a kidney. Skin that was donated was used to treat a 3½-year-old boy with third degree burns Hexum's body was then flown back to Los Angeles. He was cremated at Grandview Crematory in Glendale, California, and a private funeral was held. His ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean, near Malibu, California, by his mother. He left an estate estimated to be worth $255,000.

Hexum's death was ruled accidental. His mother later received an out-of-court settlement from 20th Century Fox Television and Glen A. Larson Productions, the production team behind Cover Up.

The episode on which Hexum had been working was broadcast on November 3, 1984, two weeks after Hexum's death. Cover Up continued production without Hexum's character. Three weeks later, on November 24, Antony Hamilton was introduced as agent Jack Striker, posing as a new member of the modeling team. Hexum's character Mac is noticeably absent, said to be on another mission. At the end of the episode, Henry Towler (Richard Anderson) breaks the news that Mac has been killed on the other assignment and would not be coming back. As the tears flowed, the camera panned back, and a memoriam written by Glen Larson appeared onscreen:

When a star dies, its light continues to shine

across the universe for millenniums (sic).

John (sic) Eric Hexum died in October of this year ... but the lives he touched will continue to be brightened by his light

... forever ... and ever.

Steve Irwin on the set of Ocean's Deadliest 

Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006), nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, television personality, wildlife expert, environmentalist and conservationist.

Death

Irwin died on 4 September 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The stinger penetrated his thoracic wall, causing massive trauma.[86][87] He was at Batt Reef, near Port Douglas, Queensland, taking part in the production of the documentary series Ocean's Deadliest. During a lull in filming caused by inclement weather, Irwin decided to snorkel in shallow waters while being filmed in an effort to provide footage for his daughter's television program.

While swimming in chest-deep water, Irwin approached a short-tail stingray with an approximate span of two metres (6.5 ft) from the rear, in order to film it swimming away.

According to the incident's only witness, "All of a sudden [the stingray] propped on its front and started stabbing wildly with its tail. Hundreds of strikes in a few seconds". Irwin initially believed he only had a punctured lung. However, the stingray's barb pierced his heart, causing him to bleed to death. The stingray's behaviour appeared to have been a defensive response to being boxed in. Crew members aboard Irwin's boat administered CPR and rushed him to the nearby Low Isles where medical staff pronounced him dead.

Irwin's death is believed to be the only fatality from a stingray captured on video.

Footage of the incident was viewed by Queensland state police as part of their mandatory investigations. All copies of the footage were then destroyed at the behest of Irwin's family. Production was completed on Ocean's Deadliest, which was broadcast in the US on the Discovery Channel on 21 January 2007. The documentary was completed with footage shot in the weeks following the accident, but without including any mention of Irwin's accidental death.

The Twilight Zone (The Movie) Accident 

On July 23, 1982, a Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter crashed at Indian Dunes[2] in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California, during the making of Twilight Zone: The Movie. The crash killed three people on the ground (actor Vic Morrow and child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen) and injured the six helicopter passengers. The incident led to years of civil and criminal action and was responsible for the introduction of new procedures and safety standards in the filmmaking industry.

Background

The film featured four sequences, one of which was based on the 1961 Twilight Zone episode "A Quality of Mercy", named in supplementary material as "Time Out". In the script, character Bill Connor (Morrow) is transported back in time to the midst of the Vietnam War, where he has become a Vietnamese man protecting two children from American troops.

Director John Landis violated California's child labor laws by hiring seven year-old Myca Dinh Le and six year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen without the required permits. Landis and several other staff members were also responsible for a number of labor violations connected with other people involved in the accident, which came to light after the incident.

Le and Chen were being paid under the table to circumvent California's child labor laws, which did not permit children to work at night. Landis opted not to seek a special waiver, either because he did not think that he would get permission for such a late hour or because he knew that he would not get approval to have young children in a scene with a large number of explosives. The casting agents were unaware that the children would be involved in the scene. Associate producer George Folsey Jr. told the children's parents not to tell any firefighters on the set that the children were part of the scene, and hid them from a fire safety officer who also worked as a welfare worker. A fire safety officer was concerned that the blasts would cause a crash, but he did not tell Landis of his concerns.

The Accident

The filming location was the ranch Indian Dunes that was used through the 1980s in films and television shows, including The Color Purple, Escape From New York, MacGyver, and China Beach. The location was within the 30-mile zone, its wide-open area permitted more pyrotechnic effects, and it was possible to shoot night scenes without city lights visible in the background. Indian Dunes' 600 acres (2.4 km2) also featured a wide topography of green hills, dry desert, dense woods, and jungle-like riverbeds along the Santa Clara River which made it suitable to double for locations around the world, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Brazil, and Vietnam.

The night scene called for Morrow's character to carry the two children out of a deserted village and across a shallow river while being pursued by American soldiers in a hovering helicopter. The helicopter was piloted by Vietnam War veteran Dorcey Wingo.  During the filming, Wingo stationed his helicopter 25 feet (7.6 m) from the ground, while hovering near a large mortar effect; he then turned the aircraft 180 degrees to the left for the next camera shot. The effect was detonated while the helicopter's tail-rotor was still above it, causing the rotor to fail and detach from the tail. The low-flying helicopter spun out of control. At the same time, Morrow dropped Chen into the water. He was reaching out to grab her when the helicopter fell on top of him and the two children. Morrow and Le were decapitated by the helicopter's main rotor blades, while Chen was crushed to death by the helicopter's right landing skid; all three died instantaneously.

At the trial, the defense claimed that the explosions were detonated at the wrong time. Randall Robinson was an assistant cameraman on board the helicopter, and he testified that production manager Dan Allingham told Wingo, "That's too much. Let's get out of here," when the explosions were detonated, but Landis shouted over the radio: "Get lower... lower! Get over [lower]!" Robinson said that Wingo tried to leave the area, but that "we lost our control and regained it and then I could feel something let go and we began spinning around in circles."Stephen Lydecker, also a camera operator on board, testified that Landis had earlier "shrugged off" warnings about the stunt with the comment "we may lose the helicopter." Lydecker acknowledged that Landis might have been joking when he made the remark, but he said: "I learned not to take anything the man said as a joke. It was his attitude. He didn't have time for suggestions from anybody

Investigation

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had just instituted regulations in March of that year to define how aircraft were to be regulated during film and television productions. The new regulations, however, only covered fixed-wing aircraft and not helicopters. As a result of the fatal accident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that the terms be extended to apply to all types of aircraft.

Aftermath

he accident led to civil and criminal action against the filmmakers which lasted nearly a decade. Le's father Daniel Lee testified that he heard Landis instructing the helicopter to fly lower. All four parents testified that they were never told that there would be helicopters or explosives on set, and they had been reassured that there would be no danger, only noise. Lee survived the Vietnam War and emigrated with his wife to the United States, and he was horrified when the explosions began on the Vietnamese village set, bringing back memories of the war.

Landis, Folsey, Wingo, production manager Allingham, and explosives specialist Paul Stewart were tried and acquitted on charges of manslaughter in a nine-month trial in 1986 and 1987.[7][20] Morrow's family settled within a year; the children's families collected millions of dollars from several civil lawsuits.

As a result of the accident, second assistant director Andy House had his name removed from the credits and replaced with the pseudonym "Alan Smithee."It was the first time that a director was charged due to a fatality on a set. The trial was described as "long, controversial and bitterly divisive".

Screen Actors Guild spokesman Mark Locher said at the conclusion of the trial: "The entire ordeal has shaken the industry from top to bottom." Warner Bros. set up dedicated safety committees to establish acceptable standards "for every aspect of filmmaking, from gunfire to fixed-wing aircraft to smoke and pyrotechnics." The standards are regularly issued as safety bulletins and published as the Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) Safety Manual for Television & Feature Production. The IIPP manual is "a general outline of safe work practices to be used as a guideline for productions to provide a safe work environment" and is distributed to all studio employees.

The Directors Guild of America's safety committee began publishing regular safety bulletins for its members and established a telephone hotline to "enable directors to get quick answers to safety questions." The guild also began to discipline its members for violations of its safety procedures on sets, which it had not done prior to the crash.The Screen Actors Guild introduced a 24-hour hotline and safety team for its members and "encouraged members to use the right of refusal guaranteed in contracts if they believe a scene is unsafe." Filming accidents fell by 69.6-percent between 1982 and 1986, although there were still six deaths on sets.

Landis spoke about the accident in a 1996 interview: "There was absolutely no good aspect about this whole story. The tragedy, which I think about every day, had an enormous impact on my career, from which it may possibly never recover."

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg co-produced the film with Landis, but he broke off their friendship following the accident.Spielberg said that the crash "made me grow up a little more" and left everyone who worked on the movie "sick to the center of our souls". He added: "No movie is worth dying for. I think people are standing up much more now than ever before to producers and directors who ask too much. If something isn't safe, it's the right and responsibility of every actor or crew member to yell, 'Cut!

Ormer Locklear on the set of The Skywayman

Ormer Leslie "Lock" Locklear (October 28, 1891 – August 2, 1920) was an American daredevil stunt pilot and film actor.

His popular flying circus caught the attention of Hollywood, and he starred in The Great Air Robbery (1919), a screenplay about the mid-air piracy of a US airmail plane. In his next film, The Skywayman, the plane crashed during a climactic dive, when the lighting team supposedly failed to douse the lights on cue, so Locklear was dazzled and flew blindly into the ground, dying instantly with his co-pilot Milton "Skeets" Elliott. The scene remained on the film.

Death

The last stunt scheduled for filming for The Skywayman was a nighttime spin, initially to take place in daylight with cameras fitted with red filters to simulate darkness. Locklear, under a lot of pressure, with not only his family life being in upheaval but also learning that studio head William Fox was not going to extend his contract beyond one film, demanded that he be allowed to fly at night. The studio relented, and on August 2, 1920, publicity surrounding the stunt led to a large crowd gathering to witness the filming of the unusual stunt. Large studio arc lights were set up on DeMille Field 2 to illuminate the Curtiss "Jenny", to be doused as the aircraft entered its final spin. The dive towards some oil derricks was to make it appear that the airplane crashed beside the oil well. As arranged, Locklear had forewarned the lighting crew to douse their lights when he got near the derricks so that he could see to pull out of the dive, saying that "When you take the lights off, I'll know where I am and I can come out of it." After completing a series of aerial maneuvers, Locklear signaled that he would descend.

In front of spectators and film crew, Locklear and his long-time flying partner "Skeets" Elliot crashed heavily into the sludge pool of an oil well, never pulling out of the incipient spin. The crash resulted in a massive explosion and fire, with Locklear and Elliot dying instantly. After the accident, speculation revolved around the five arc lights that had remained fully on, possibly blinding the flight crew.

With the entire film already completed except for the night scene, Fox made the decision to capitalize on the fatal crash by rushing The Skywayman into post-production and release.With notices proclaiming "Every Inch Of Film Showing Locklear's Spectacular (And Fatal) Last Flight. His Death-Defying Feats And A Close Up Of His Spectacular Crash To Earth," the film premiered in Los Angeles on September 5, 1920  The advertising campaign that accompanied the film was very similar to that of Locklear's first feature film, focusing on his earlier exploits and combining model displays and exhibition flights across North America to coincide with the film's release. Upon the film's release, Fox Film Corporation publicly announced that 10% of the profits would go to the families of Locklear and Elliot.

Locklear is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Fort Worth, Texas

Locklear was reputed to be the prototype for the character of Waldo Pepper, played by Robert Redford in The Great Waldo Pepper (1975). Viola Dana his Fiance' at the time of his death was an honored guest at the premiere of the film.

Death on the set of Midnight Rider

Midnight Rider is an unfinished Motion Picture about the life of Allman Brother Greg Allman. 

Midnight Rider, also known as Midnight Rider: The Gregg Allman Story, is an unfinished American biographical drama film. Director Randall Miller co-wrote the screenplay with Jody Savin, based on the autobiography My Cross to Bear by the singer Gregg Allman. Miller and Savin were also the producers. The film was to star William Hurt, Tyson Ritter, Zoey Deutch, Eliza Dushku, and Wyatt Russell.

On February 20, 2014, the first day of filming, the crew was on an active railroad trestle bridge, high over the Altamaha River in Wayne County, Georgia. Due to criminal negligence by the producers of the film, second assistant camerawoman Sarah Jones was killed when she was struck by a CSX freight train that arrived on the trestle. Seven other crew members were also hurt, one seriously. Production was suspended the following week and multiple investigations into the incident were undertaken with several yet to be resolved. Miller, Savin, executive producer Jay Sedrish, and first assistant director Hillary Schwartz were charged with involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass as well as being cited by OSHA for "serious" and "willful" safety violations. On March 9, 2015, Miller pled guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing and received a 10-year sentence, of which he served one year, followed by probation. Sedrish was also convicted of felony involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing via a plea bargain and sentenced to 10 years of probation. The charges against Savin were dropped as part of the plea agreement with her husband and business partner Randall Miller.

Film Allman LLC, referenced in multiple lawsuits, is the production company created by Randall Miller, Jody Savin and Brad Rosenberger in the state of Georgia, specifically for the production of Midnight Rider. Unclaimed Freight Productions is Miller and Savin's parent California production company.

Accident on February 20,2014

On February 20, 2014, the film crew was transported an hour from Meddin Studios to a remote location for what was stated to be a "camera test". They had permission to film on property that was secured by fencing, owned by Rayonier for mill operations. Running through this property was CSX railroad property, which included the historic Doctortown railroad trestle in Wayne County. CSX claims that the production asked twice for permission to use its property, and was denied both times in writing. Sergeant Ben Robertson later wrote in an incident report, "In my presence, Mr. Sedrish was asked by an employee of CSX if he had permission to be on the trestle or tracks and Mr. Sedrish replied, 'That's complicated."

Under the direction of producer/director Randall Miller, the crew prepared and started filming a dream sequence involving William Hurt as Allman on a heavy metal hospital bed on this live railroad trestle, high above the Altamaha River. The producers had assured the cast and crew that it was safe to film on the railroad trestle. Even though official shooting of the film was scheduled to begin the following Monday, February 24, in and around Savannah, and February 20 had been referred to as a "camera test", it seems that the producers intended to shoot a substantial scene without the full crew.

While they were filming, a train came around a corner at 58 mph (93 km/h; 26 m/s), giving the cast and crew less than a minute to evacuate from the filming location, a substantial way out onto the trestle. The only escape route was toward the oncoming train. Video of the crew indicates that they were unaware how fast it was approaching; some attempted to remove camera equipment and the metal bed from the trestle. They failed to remove the bed before the train rolled through, and many of the crew were trapped out on the trestle. The train struck and shattered the metal bed, sending shrapnel toward crew members. Fragments struck camera assistant Sarah Jones and propelled her toward the still fast moving train, resulting in her death.

William Hurt, who was meant to be on the hospital bed in the scene, got off the trestle before the train hit the bed, collecting splinters on his bare feet as he ran across the ties then to the sharp rocks on shore. Several other crew members were injured and were taken to the hospital.

The railroad trestle that the film crew was on is a historic bridge crossing the Altamaha River in Wayne County at the location of the civil war Battle of Altamaha Bridge. According to the NTSB preliminary report, the train was traveling at 58 mph (93 km/h; 26 m/s) and the speed limit for this section of track was 70 mph (110 km/h; 31 m/s). On February 21, sheriff's deputies identified the deceased as Sarah Elizabeth Jones, and confirmed that seven others were injured in the incident.

Executive producer Nick Gant, creative director and principal of Meddin Studios, denied any wrongdoing or negligence in the incident, and told Variety that the crew was extremely well qualified, and blamed the railway company for the mishap. On February 24, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office released an incident report, in which it was stated that the production company had previously been denied permission by CSX to film on the train trestle. The investigation was later expanded to include the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, investigating Jones's death as a negligent homicide.

William Hurt pulled out of the film after the accident.

Criminal case and convictions

Miller, Savin, and executive producer/unit production manager Jay Sedrish were charged with involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass on July 3, 2014 Miller and Savin originally pleaded not guilty. On September 10, 2014, Hillary Schwartz, the first assistant director of Midnight Rider, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing.

On March 9, 2015, just before the trial was to commence, the DA agreed to plea bargains for two of the defendants. Miller and Sedrish entered guilty pleas to felony involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing, while charges were dropped against Savin as part of Miller's plea.

Miller received a sentence of 10 years, of which he was expected to serve two years in jail followed by probation (during which he will be precluded from working as a director or assistant director or other capacity involving employee safety) as well as a fine and community service obligation. Miller was remanded to custody immediately following the plea hearing to begin serving his sentence in the Wayne County jail. He was released in March 2016 after serving one year of his term.

Sedrish was sentenced to 10 years' probation and a fine, and will likewise be precluded from working as a director or assistant director or other capacity involving employee safety. On March 10, 2015 Schwartz pleaded guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass, and was also sentenced to 10 years' probation'

Civil Lawsuits

Gregg Allman v. Unclaimed Freight Productions et al.

In an attempt to halt the effort to restart filming of Midnight Rider by Randall Miller and Jody Savin, Gregg Allman, the subject of the film and executive producer, filed suit on April 28, 2014, in Chatham County Superior Court. Allman claimed that Miller and Savin had failed to pay the agreed upon option price for the film rights and had failed to start primary photography by the date stipulated in the option contract. After one day of court proceedings that included Miller testifying on the stand, the trial came to a halt as Allman and Miller's attorneys agreed to an out of court settlement. Nothing has been publicly revealed about this settlement.

Richard Jones and Elisabeth Jones v. CSX Transportation and Unknown Corporations

Richard and Elisabeth Jones, Sarah's parents, filed a wrongful death lawsuit, on behalf of their daughter, against CSX, the producers of the film Midnight Rider, and related companies and individuals, on May 21, 2014, in Chatham County, Georgia, where the film production was based. The complaint alleged that the defendants "had knowledge, actual or constructive, that the scene filmed on February 20 was to take place on active railroad tracks, without permission from CSX" and that they "knew of the danger presented by filming under those circumstances." In reply, CSX stated that it repeatedly denied the producers permission to use its property and railroad trestle. It also revealed that its employees on two previous CSX trains saw the film crew congregating near CSX's property where there is also a railroad crossing. The Joneses' attorneys contend that given these warning signs CSX should have slowed the train and sent an investigator to the site. Sarah Jones's family settled with a number of parties before trial. Defendants CSX Transportation, Meddin Studios, and Jeffery Gant remained in the trial.

In July 2017, a jury awarded $11.2 million to Jones's family. LIn the wake of Jones' death, her family, friends, supporters and others in the film industry have launched a campaign for greater awareness and attention to safety issues in the production of films and television.iability for $3.9 million was allocated to CSX, $3.14 million to Miller, and $2 million to Rayonier Performance Fibers, the company that owned the land where the tracks were located; the remaining liability was allocated to Savin, Schwartz and Jay Serdish, a movie set employee. CSX appealed and ultimately settled with the Jones family for an undisclosed lesser amount while the appeal was pending.

Film Allman LLC v. New York Marine Insurance

On August 12, 2014, Film Allman LLC filed a lawsuit against New York Marine Insurance in which the plaintiffs contended that if they did not receive the $1.6 million insurance payout for the interruption caused by the fatal train collision during filming, they would be unable to continue with the film production. The lawsuit also revealed that they had rewritten the film script, and submitted it to the insurance carrier, to be about 1970s rock music in general, and not specifically about Gregg Allman. This revelation, along with Gregg Allman's undisclosed out of court settlement with Miller and Savin's Film Allman LLC, has raised substantial questions as to whether the production would still be considered a "Gregg Allman biopic", based on his autobiography, if they were able to attempt to restart filming. The insurance policy has a clear stipulation that the insured must adhere to all safety standards and laws to prevent loss. However, Film Allman LLC has been cited by OSHA for putting their crew at risk both for falls from the trestle, a "serious citation", as well as in danger of being struck by a train, a "willful citation", in addition to criminal indictments of the three managing producers and first AD for criminal trespassing and involuntary manslaughter.

Federal NTSB, OSHA and FRA investigations, citations and reports

NTSB investigation

On March 23, 2015, the National Transportation Safety Board adopted a final report, which cited the probable cause of the accident as "the film crew's unauthorized entry onto the CSX Transportation right-of-way at the Altamaha River bridge with personnel and equipment, despite CSX Transportation's repeated denial of permission to access the railroad property. Contributing to the accident was the adjacent property owner's actions to facilitate the film crew's access to the right-of-way and bridge."

OSHA citations of Film Allman LLC

The United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Film Allman LLC for willful and serious citations with a proposed penalty of $74,900 on August 14, 2014  The producers chose to appeal the charges and fines proposed by OSHA, and a hearing was set for March 31, 2015, in Savannah.

FRA statement on investigation

The Federal Railroad Administration, on October 15, 2014, stated that they are still investigating the train collision. A spokesperson said, "The FRA is investigating the February 20, 2014 accident that occurred on the CSX rail line in Nahunta, Georgia. Once completed, the investigation will identify the root cause of the accident, and we will take all appropriate enforcement actions."

National Council on Occupational Safety and Health report

The National Council on Occupational Safety and Health, or COSH, cited Sarah Jones in one of seven case studies of workplace deaths that could have been prevented in its annual report. Hairstylist Joyce Gilliard, also injured in the Midnight Rider tragedy, spoke about the report on a conference call with reporters and separately said in a statement, "After what I saw and lived through, I want to advocate for safety and prevent any other tragedies or injuries in the workplace.

Safety for Sarah Movement

In the wake of Jones' death, her family, friends, supporters and others in the film industry have launched a campaign for greater awareness and attention to safety issues in the production of films and television.

Here is a comprehensive list of Film and TV Accidents and Deaths in all of Film History 

List of Film and TV Accidents