Singer Gregg Allman was sued Wednesday along with several movie producers, a railroad company after the tragic death of the camera assistant, Sarah Jones.
The family of Sarah Jones, the camera assistant that was killed during the filming of “Midnight Rider”, has filed a lawsuit against the film’s director, crew members, producers, the distributor Open Road Films, and the companies that own and manage the railroad tracks and surrounding property.
According to reports, the lawsuit includes charges of negligence and asks for an unspecified damages for Jones’ death and pain and suffering, and punitive damages. The family of Sarah Jones is seeking damages “for the full value of Sarah’s life”.
The lawsuit claims that director Randall Miller and the defendants, including the location manager, Charles Baxter, the first assistant director Hilary Schwartz and cinematographer Mike Ozier all failed to obtain permission for the production on the railroad bridge. Furthermore, they hid the fact that the shooting location was dangerous and that they received permission to film on the railroad.
Essentially, the crew members believed that they had permission to be on the railroad tracks even though that was not the case.
There are a total of 18 defendants named in the wrongful death lawsuit including the film’s producer and writer, executive producers, Meddin Studios, CSX railroad, Rayonier, the paper company that owns the land around the tracks.
Recently, Open Road Films, the distribution company for “Midnight Rider” issued a statement about the new lawsuit Wednesday afternoon.
“This event was a horrible tragedy, and our deepest condolences go out to the Jones family, the crew members and others who have suffered. Open Road Films was not involved in the production in any way at any time, and we have been named in this suit without justification.”
According to an employee of Rayonier, the company that owns the land around the tracks, told the production company that only two trains would pass on the tracks per day. However, the tracks “Midnight Rider” filmed on were one of the busiest freight lines in Georgia and receives 10 to 12 trains on a regular day.
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.
The district attorney has not decided whether or not to file criminal charges in the case. The criminal case is centering on whether or not the production company had permission or thought they had permission to film on the railroad tracks. According to CSX, they refused permission for the production to use its tracks and claimed they have e-mails to prove it. However, the film’s producers are arguing otherwise.
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