As reported by Deadline, a stunt person died on the set of Deadpool 2 today in Vancouver after a motorcycle trick went wrong. The woman’s name hasn’t been released and details about the accident are slim, but people on the scene say that the crew was filming a stunt involving a motorcycle crashing through a window. WorkSafeBC, a workplace safety organization, has a number of agents on the set now who are “looking at immediate occupational safety and health issues,” with others specifically investigating the cause of this incident. In a statement, a spokesperson for 20th Century Fox said, “We are deeply saddened by the accident that occurred on the set of Deadpool 2 this morning. Our hearts and prayers are with the family, friends, and colleagues of our crew member during this difficult time.”
This comes just a month after stuntman John Bernecker died from injuries he sustained on the set of The Walking Dead, and just a few days after Tom Cruise himself limped off the set of Mission: Impossible 6 following a botched stunt.
UPDATE: The stunt person who died in the accident has been identified as Joi “SJ” Harris, with Deadline reporting that she was the first African-American female professional road racer and that Deadpool 2 was her first movie working as a stunt performer. Before the accident, she had successfully pulled off the stunt five times and practiced all day on Saturday, but on the final take, her motorcycle “seemed to accelerate when it was supposed to slow” and Harris wasn’t wearing a helmet because the character she was standing in for—Zazie Beetz’s Domino—wasn’t wearing one.
