Shocking footage shows the moment a camera crew ran for their lives to avoid an oncoming train that eventually hit one of the members.
On February 20, 2014, the production team behind the film, Midnight Rider, was filming a scene on an active railroad bridge over the Altamaha River in Wayne County, Georgia.
According to reports, the plan was for the crew to oversee a “camera test” for a sequence that would have actor William Hurt placed on a heavy metal hospital bed on the live railway.
Per Dexerto, members on set attempted to conduct the test after two CSX trains passed by, however, a third unexpectedly approached where they were located - meaning they had a minute to run for their lives and get to safety.
Watch the footage below:A horrifying video has been shared online, showing the team removing the props off the tracks while an oncoming train approaches them.
They failed to take the metal bed from the tracks before the train slammed into it, leading to 27-year-old camerawoman Sarah Jones losing her life after the metal fragments hit her and caused her to fall towards the train.
According to a report from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, via The Hollywood Reporter, Jones' cause of death was listed as “multiple injuries due to railroad train,” having “died of multiple injuries sustained as a pedestrian struck by a railroad train while at work on a movie location.”
It was also classified as an “accident” in the report. In addition to this, several crew members were injured in the harrowing incident.
After the tragedy, director Randall Miller, screenplay writer Jody Savin, executive producer Jay Sedrish, and first assistant director Hillary Schwartz were all charged with involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.
Per Variety, the filmmaker pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and went on to serve a year in jail followed by an ongoing 10-year probation.
Schwartz was also found guilty of criminal trespass and involuntary manslaughter and was also sentenced to a 10-year probation.
Jackie Johnson, the district attorney who led the prosecution in the Midnight Rider criminal case, labeled the late camerawoman's death as a "preventable tragedy," as reported by Variety.
“Had everything been done, had everyone been doing their job that day, and had there been communication, I think that this would not have happened in any industry, whether it is the railroad industry or even in my office," she continued.
"Somebody has got to be in charge, and somebody has got to make sure that everybody else is doing their job as they should," Johnson concluded.
Jones' family was awarded $11.2 million in its civil suit against CSX Transportation.
The 27-year-old's parents also set up the Safety for Sarah movement, which advocated for increased safety in film production.
"This trial disclosed a number of exceptionally poor judgments and ignored opportunities by CSX Transportation to prevent this tragedy," her parents said. "Frankly, I believe that the evidence in this trial indicated that CSX has systemic issues that need corrected. We miss you, Sarah.”
After the loss of Jones, no other production company has tried to finish Midnight Rider’s story.
