‘Midnight Rider’ Victim’s Family Files Massive Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Everyone wants to get the shot, but no one wants to spend the extra time or money to do it right (or, at the very least, to consider the well-being of the cast and crew). Hopefully, unlike so many before it, this lesson won't go forgotten.

The family of Sarah Jones, the camera assistant killed during filming of the film “Midnight Rider,” has filed a lawsuit against the film’s director, producers, some of its crew, Gregg Allman, distributor Open Road Films and the companies that own the railroad tracks and surrounding land.

The suit, which also includes charges of negligence, asks for unspecified damages for Jones’s death and pain and suffering, plus punitive damages.

The suit alleges that director Randall Miller and the defendants, including location manager Charles Baxter, executive producer Jay Sedrish, first assistant director Hillary Schwartz and cinematographer Mike Ozier,  failed to obtain permission for the production to be on the railroad bridge where the fatal accident occurred, and that they concealed that fact and the danger of their shooting plans from the rest of the crew by leading them to think they would be working on the tracks with the permission of the railroad.