Details have emerged of the circumstances leading up to the death of a stunt driver working on ‘Deadpool 2‘ in Vancouver on Monday.
32-year-old Joi ‘SJ’ Harris died on set while attempting to perform a low-speed motorcycle stunt – when her motorcycle hit the curb of the sidewalk, Harris was thrown through the glass window of a building, and died from her injuries.
A statement from WorkSafeBC who investigated the tragic accident said:
A temporary worksite had been setup to record a film scene for a movie production. The site had been cordoned off from general public and traffic by the Vancouver Police Department. The worker had been rehearsing a stunt scene that involved driving a motorcycle, Dictate 939 Hyperstrada, out of the open doors of a building, across a concrete pad and down a ramp that had been built over three stairs and coming to a stop on the stair landing. During the first shooting of the scene the stunt driver continued driving beyond the planned stopping spot on the stairway landing, and continued to drive down a second ramp built over the bottom stairs and across the roadway. The motorcycle struck the concrete sidewalk curb, the worker was thrown off the motorcycle and propelled through a plate glass window of a building.
While an experienced motorcycle rider, this was Harris’ first ever movie stunt. She had successfully completed the stunt – at a speed never exceeding 15 km/h – five times before the crash.
After the accident, production stopped for two days. When they returned to work, the cast and crew of ‘Deadpool 2‘ reportedly held a minute of silence for Harris.
Statements from the studio, and the movie’s star, Ryan Reynolds, on Monday expressed grief and shock.
