A confidential settlement has been reached in the wrongful death civil case against CSX Transportation brought by the family of young camera assistant Sarah Jones, who was killed on the train trestle set of Midnight Rider in 2014. The settlement was revealed today by the lawyers for the Jones family.
The lawyers said that “a satisfaction of judgment” was filed on January 25 in Savannah, GA. The case arose from the death of Jones back in February 2014, when director Randall Miller and key supervisors on the film made the decision to place their crew on a live train track. According to court documents, the train conductor from CSX had radioed that he saw something on the track, however, the next train coming did not slow down and instead plowed through the set going more than 50 mph. All of these actions resulted in the death of Jones and the injury of several more people.
“This has been a long journey, and we’re deeply grateful for the support we’ve received from family, friends and members of the film community,” said Richard Jones, father of Sarah Jones, in a prepared statement. “We’re relieved that the lawsuit has concluded.”
In July 2017, a jury also returned an $11.2 million verdict, concluding that the death of 27-year-old Jones was the direct result of the negligence of multiple parties, including CSX Transportation.
“It has truly been an honor to represent the Jones family and to work to secure justice on behalf of Sarah Jones,” said Harris Lowry Manton LLP partner Jeff Harris, the lead trial attorney for the plaintiff, in a statement. “We hope that no other family will endure the loss of a loved one due to unsafe conditions filming on location or on set.”
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