Sarah Jones was a camera assistant who lost her life in a tragic accident while filming a movie back in 2014. As a result of the accident, Sarah’s parents, Richard and Elizabeth Jones, filed a lawsuit against the parties they felt were responsible for their daughter’s death. Now, just this past Monday, a court awarded Sarah’s family $11.2 million in damages. But what transpired, exactly? Who was responsible for the accident?
Sarah Jones was a camera assistant who lost her life in a tragic accident while filming a movie back in 2014. As a result of the accident, Sarah’s parents, Richard and Elizabeth Jones, filed a lawsuit against the parties they felt were responsible for their daughter’s death. Now, just this past Monday, a court awarded Sarah’s family $11.2 million in damages. But what transpired, exactly? Who was responsible for the accident?
It turns out, during the filming of a scene for the Gregg Allman biopic “Midnight Rider,” Jones, who was 27 at the time, “was fatally struck by a train that crashed into the crew filming on a railway.” Many other crew members were injured in the accident that took place “on a historic trestle outside of Savannah,” and after an investigation into the events, authorities revealed that the film’s “producers did not have permission to film on the railway” in the first place.
So who was responsible? Well, according to the ruling, the jury “found that CSX was primarily liable for the accident and should pay 35% of the total” settlement that includes “just under $2 million for pain and suffering and $9.2 million for economic losses.” CSX is the train’s operator, and prior to the settlement announcement, CSX attorneys “argued that they had not authorized the “Midnight Rider” filmmakers to shoot on the railway.”
In response to Monday’s announcement, CSX issued the following statement:
“CSX is deeply sympathetic to the terrible loss suffered by the family of Ms. Sarah Jones, but respectfully disagrees with the conclusions reached by the jury today and will appeal.”
What about the film’s director or producers? For starters, the film’s producers and Sarah’s parent’s “agreed to a confidential settlement” back in 2014. However, the director, Randall Miller, ended up pleading guilty “to involuntary manslaughter in 2015” and was “sentenced to up to two years in prison and fined $20,000.” Additionally, in Monday’s ruling, Miller “was found responsible for 28%” of the $11.2 million to be paid to Sarah’s parents.
According to court documents, other responsible parties include Rayonier Performance Fibers, the “owners of the land where the accident occurred.” They’re responsible “for 18% and the rest of the liability is divided between individual members of the film’s production company.”
How have Sarah’s parents responded to everything? Well, they issued the following statement after Monday’s announcement:
“Elizabeth and I have spent the last 3 plus years wanting to understand how our daughter, Sarah Elizabeth Jones, tragically lost her life. That search has now come to a close…. We felt that this trial was necessary in order to learn what happened that tragic day of February 20, 2014. It is only with the discovery of what could have been done differently that we might avoid another similar tragic loss of life.”
Sources:
Parents of 27-year-old woman killed while filming movie win $11.2-million judgment
Footage shows final moments before camerawoman is killed by train on Midnight Rider movie set
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