Two weeks after the criminal cases stemming from the February 2014 train wreck on a Jesup film set that killed crew member Sarah Jones were resolved, federal investigators have released a lengthy report into the matter.
In short, trespassing is to blame, the National Transportation Safety Board report concludes.
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
In pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing, Miller received a sentence of two yeas in jail and eight on probation, in addition to a $20,000 fine.
Executive producer Jay Sedrish also pleaded guilty and got 10 years on probation.
The NTSB details the lapses in procedure that led up to the fatality. About a month before the train wreck, a location manager sought permission from CSX, which owns the train tracks, to film there. CSX denied the request, saying in response: "In accordance with our company protocol, CSX does not permit filming on our property. This is based on concern for the safety of those accessing and working on our railroad, security considerations, and our commitment to ensuring on-schedule train operations for the customers we serve."
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
But the "Midnight Rider" team continued scouting the property anyway, and sent another request to CSX. Again, the request was denied: "Unfortunately, CSX will not be able to support your request."
This caused a dispute within members of the film crew: "In an interview, the location manager stated that he informed the producer, the director, the writer, and the first-assistant director about CSX’s denial of permission for filming on the railroad property. Furthermore, the location manager said that the director insisted that filming would proceed despite CSX’s denial of permission. As a result, the location manager refused to participate in the film shoot; although he could not prohibit the film crew from working."
Regardless, filming commenced.
