‘Midnight Rider’ Trial jury selection starts this Monday.
According to reports, the court case surrounding the death of Sarah Jones is ramping up in rural Georgia. Randall Miller, the director of Midnight Rider, his wife Jody Savin and executive producer Jay Sedrish are facing 11 years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Jury selection is scheduled to start Monday morning in Wayne County Superior Court, about 70 miles southwest of Savannah. The judge has set aside a week for the trial.
A year later, Miller is scheduled to stand trial along with his business partner wife and the movie’s executive producer in a rare case of filmmakers being prosecuted for deaths on their sets. A jury in rural Wayne County will have to decide if the train collision that killed 27-year-oldSarah Jones was an accident or the result of a criminal act. And if a crime occurred, which of the defendants, if any, should take the blame?
A fourth Midnight Rider defendant, assistant director Hillary Schwartz, has also been charged but prosecutors plan to try to her separately, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Which means that Hillary Schwartz could testify against Miller, Savin and Sedrish.
According to reports, the production went onto the bridge thinking the tracks would be unused for the rest of the day, The production placed a hospital bed on the railroad tracks for a dream scene. While shooting the scene, an oncoming train blew its whistle. The crew was warned that if they heard a train whistle, they would have a minute to clear. But, the train was heading down the tracks faster than expected and the crew did not have time to clear people from the bridge or the bed from the tracks.
The train struck the bed, sending pieces of metal flying in all directions. Sarah Jones was hit by a peices of metal and knocked into the path of the train. She was struck by the train and killed. Other crew members required hospitalization.
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