The parents of the late Sarah Jones, the camera assistant who was struck and killed by a train on the Midnight Rider film set, have reached a confidential settlement agreement with several of the defendants in their civil lawsuit, it was announced yesterday (Nov. 19).
In May, Jones' parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against several individuals and organisations involved with the Gregg Allman biopic, including the producers and director Randall Miller.
Despite the attrocity, a settlement has now been reached with Miller; producer Jody Savin; executive producers Jay Sedrish and Don Mandrik; location manager Charles Baxter; Miller's production company Unclaimed Freight; first assistant director Hillary Schwartz'; director of photography Mike Ozier; Epozier Films, Inc.; and Rayonier Performance Fibers, the paper company that owns the land around the train tracks where Midnight Rider was filming when a train struck and killed the camera assistant.
CSX Transportation, which operates the railroad tracks, remains in the suit along with Meddin Studios, which provided production and filming equipment and personnel, and executive producer Jeffrey N. Grant.
Sarah was tragically killed by an oncoming train on set of the Midnight Rider movie (SlatesforSarah/Facebook)
"Richard and Elizabeth Jones' objectives in filing this lawsuit, after the death of their 27-year-old daughter, Sarah, have been clear and unwavering," their attorney Jeff Harris said in a statement. "To find out what happened on the day of their daughter's death, determine who was responsible, hold those who made bad decisions accountable and ensure this kind of tragedy never happens again on another film set. Today, we are another step closer to fully achieving those objectives."
Richard Jones added, "Elizabeth and I are dedicated to ensuring that our daughter's death is not in vain, and through our work with the Sarah Jones Film Foundation we continue to advocate for safer film sets - keeping safety always at the forefront, never again an afterthought. Safety for Sarah."
A number of movie and TV productions, including The Big Bang Theory, The Other Woman and Teen Wolf, have honoured Jones by raising slates with her name engraved on them.
