A WorkSafeBC investigation into the death of a stunt person on the set of Deadpool 2 has found five violations of B.C. workplace safety laws and regulations.
The report, released Wednesday, said production company TCF Vancouver Productions could also be on the receiving end of administrative penalties.
Joi ‘SJ’ Harris was killed when she lost control of a motorcycle during a stunt shoot near Vancouver’s Jack Poole Plaza on Aug. 14, 2017.
Harris, a professional motorcycle racer from Brooklyn, N.Y. was working her first job as a stunt person. Another Deadpool 2 stunt person told ET Canada that Harris was brought in days before the shoot when the original stunt person was unavailable.
Harris was riding the Ducati Hyperstrada 939 down a stairwell when the bike hit a curb and threw her through a glass window, according to a preliminary report from WorkSafeBC.
Reports from the set indicated Harris had successfully completed the stunt four times during practice runs, but had lost control on the fifth attempt.
The WorkSafeBC report confirmed Harris died after being ejected from the bike, and found five contributing factors to the crash.
According to the report, TCF failed to conduct a risk assessment ahead of the stunt addressing safety controls, the speed of the bike and equipment limitations, or to complete the company’s own inspection safety checklist.
It also found Harris had not been provided a new worker orientation, or equipped with a helmet.
TCH failed both to set up safety barriers that would have kept the bike from leaving the set perimeter, and to provide adequate safety supervision for the stunt, the report concluded.
Those failures put the company in violation of three provisions of the Worker’s Compensation Act and two provisions of B.C.’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, according to the report.
In the wake of the crash, filming on Deadpool 2 was suspended for two days. Stars Ryan Reynolds and Zazie Beetz — who Harris was standing in for — sent their condolences to her family, and the film was also dedicated to her.
In April, Harris’ family reached an out of court settlement with 20th Century Fox for an unspecified sum.
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