‘Midnight Rider’ director Randall Miller will serve time in prison following a ruling by Georgia’s Superior Court over the death of Sarah Jones.
Miller pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass as part of a plea deal Monday. The director will spend 2 years in jail followed by 8 years of probation.
Miller is also banned from directing any motion pictures for 10 years.
Executive Producer Jay Sedrish was also sentenced to 10 years of probation and is banned from working in any supervisory roles on film productions for a decade.
Miller is the first crew member on ‘Midnight Rider’ to be sentenced to jail, and the announcement comes after a long legal battle following the tragic on-set death of Sarah Jones, who was run over by a freight train while shooting a scene for the movie.
Miller will also have to carry out 15 days of community service (360 hours) as part of his sentence and pay a $25,000 fine.
It was only recently that a crew member was killed in the pre-production of Martin Scorcese’s latest film, while renowned fitness guru Greg Plitt was killed after being hit by a train in LA.
Before this year’s Oscars, film crews around the world held a minute of silence to remember Sarah Jones, and to remind others how important it is for them to follow correct safety protocols.
On-set safety has been a top priority since Sarah Jones’ death, but with a string of high profile incidents in the past few months resulting in crew casualties, the film industry still has to do more to minimize risks and educate people on best practices.
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