Midnight Rider Director Will Serve Time for Death of Camera Assistant
Midnight Rider director Randall Miller pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Monday, ensuring he'll serve time for an illegal train tracks shoot that left one camera assistant dead.
Sarah Jones, 27, was an assistant camera operator on the scene, which featured actor William Hurt laying on a hospital bed in front of a railroad bridge. The cast and crew were completely unprepared when a freight train—reportedly traveling around 60 miles an hour—plowed through the set, striking Jones and sending metal fragments flying everywhere.
It later emerged the production had been trespassing when it set up the shot on the tracks—CSX Transportation testified it had twice denied Miller's requests to film there. Via the AP:
Prosecutors said all three defendants knew that CSX Transportation, which owned the trestle spanning the Altamaha River, had denied them permission in writing to film on its tracks.
Assistant District Attorney John B. Johnson said Miller and the other filmmakers even attempted to rewrite the script to drop the scene they planned to shoot with actor William Hurt, in the role of Allman, in a hospital bed placed on the tracks.
Miller decided to shoot the scene anyway, Johnson said, after the owner of the property surrounding the tracks said the movie crew could access its land. He said Miller and his crew went onto the railroad bridge after mistakenly thinking no more trains would pass that day.
Now Miller's set to serve two years in jail and another eight on probation. He'll also reportedly pay a $20,000 fine. But, the AP reports, criminal charges against Miller's wife and business partner Jody Savin were reportedly dropped as a result of the deal.
