9 On-Set Fatalities in Films That Might Have Been Avoided

      Here are nine deaths on movie sets that might have been avoided.

      **Deadpool 2**

      A still from Deadpool 2. 20th Century Studios – Credit: C/O

      Stuntwoman Joi “SJ” Harris, 40, lost her life while filming a motorcycle stunt scene for Deadpool 2 in Vancouver, Canada, in 2017. Harris served as the stunt double for actress Zazie Beetz.

      The stunt required her to ride across a flat surface at approximately 10 miles per hour and stop just off-camera, as detailed in an investigative report by WorkSafeBC, British Columbia's Workers’ Compensation Board. She accidentally overshot her stopping point, struck a curb, was thrown from her motorcycle, and crashed through a plate glass window.

      According to The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with Harris’ family.

      **Twilight Zone: The Movie**

      A publicity still from The Twilight Zone: The Movie. Warner Bros – Credit: C/O

      An accident involving a helicopter during the filming of The Twilight Zone: The Movie at 2:20 a.m. on July 23, 1982, in Valencia, California, resulted in the tragic deaths of three individuals, prompting intense scrutiny.

      Vic Morrow, 53, along with 6-year-old Renee Shinn Chen and 7-year-old My-ca Dinh Lee, were killed when a fireball from a special effects explosion engulfed the helicopter’s tail section, causing the main rotor blade to separate and fatally injuring the actors as the helicopter crashed into a river, according to a 1984 report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

      The helicopter was filming a Vietnam war scene in which Morrow’s character was trying to save the children from American forces. The NTSB determined that a communication failure between director John Landis and helicopter pilot Dorcey Wingo led to the accident.

      In 1987, Landis, Wingo, associate producer George Folsey Jr., unit production manager Dan Allingham, and explosive specialist Paul Stewart were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter charges in Los Angeles Superior Court. However, Landis, distributor Warner Bros., Folsey, and Allingham each were fined $20,000 for civil charges related to endangering child actors and allowing them to work at night.

      Landis and producer Steven Spielberg settled with Morrow’s daughters for an undisclosed amount, according to The Washington Post. Additionally, settlements totaling around $2 million were reached with the families of Lee and Chen, reported The Los Angeles Times.

      **Midnight Rider**

      William Hurt as Greg Allman in Midnight Rider. Open Road Films. – Credit: C/O

      In 2014, camera assistant Sarah Jones, 27, was killed in Georgia while filming Midnight Rider, which starred William Hurt as Greg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band.

      The accident took place while filming on a live train track. According to a police investigation, when a train approached the set, crew members hurried to move out of its path but failed to remove a prop bed from the tracks. The train struck the prop, propelling Jones onto the tracks and into the path of the train. An autopsy report confirmed that Jones died from injuries inflicted by the impact.

      A report by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the Midnight Rider production had requested permission from CSX Transportation to film on the tracks twice and had been denied due to safety concerns. The NTSB could not determine who decided to proceed with filming despite the denials but concluded that the accident was caused by the crew’s unauthorized entry onto the railroad site.

      In July 2014, Georgia prosecutors charged director Randall Miller, his wife Jody Savin, executive producer Jay Sedrish, and first assistant director Hillary Schwartz with involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing. Schwartz pleaded not guilty and opted for a bench trial, where she was convicted of both charges and sentenced to 10 years of probation, with a $5,000 fine and barred from film-related safety positions.

      In March 2015, Miller and Sedrish took plea deals, with charges against Savin being dropped. Sedrish received 10 years of probation and a $10,000 fine, whereas Miller was sentenced to two years in jail followed by eight years of probation, a $25,000 fine, and community service. He was released a year later after his sentence was reduced, but a judge found in 2021 that he violated probation by directing a movie overseas without penalty.

      **Gone in 60 Seconds 2**

      A publicity still from Gone in 60 Seconds. H.B. Halicki Far West Films-USA Distribution-International. – Credit: C/O

      Director, writer, stunt driver, and actor H.B. Halicki was behind the car-theft thriller Gone in 60 Seconds, released in 1974, which became one