Video: Midnight Rider Cast and Crew Had Seconds to Run Off Train Tracks
Cast and crew members on the set of Midnight Rider were still scrambling off the tracks seconds before a freight train struck and killed a second camera assistant, video released by the railroad shows.
Sarah Jones, 27, was killed while filming the Gregg Allman biopic in February during a shoot on a railroad trestle in Doctortown, GA. Crew members involved in the production say the film never had permission to be filming on the tracks.
20/20 aired the footage, which shows dozens of people—including the film's stars, William Hurt and Wyatt Russell—scrambling off the track and pressing up against the bridge as the train hurtled by. The video was captured by a camera attached to the train, which was reportedly traveling around 60 miles an hour.
Crew members were unable to remove a hospital bed from the tracks in time and shrapnel from the impact reportedly struck Jones, knocking her into the train's path.
Director Randall Miller and three other people were arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass. Police say they knew they didn't have permission to film on the tracks but went for the shot anyway.
A hairstylist on the shoot told 20/20 they were told they'd have 60 seconds to get off the tracks if a train came. The crew had to run towards the train to get off the trestle, and the hairstylist was unable to get off the bridge in time. She was forced to hold on to a girder on the bridge and sustained a serious arm injury.
Miller's attorneys say he had permission to film on the surrounding land, which he thought included filming on the tracks. According to 20/20, Miller bragged about shooting scenes without permission on his 2013 film CBGB.
[image via ABC]