As recently reported by Music Times, the director and two producers of the upcoming Gregg Allman biopic were indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing. Now, TMZ states that Midnight Rider director Randall Miller and producer Jody Savin have surrendered to police in Georgia following the indictment.
The charges of involuntary manslaughter came after an accident on February 20 while filming the biopic in Wayne Country, Georgia. The crew was allegedly shooting on train tracks without permission when a train unexpectedly came down the tracks and struck and killed the film's camera assistant, 27-year-old Sarah Jones.
The Wayne County Sheriff's Department states that both Miller and Savin posted $27,000 and were released after an hour.
Midnight Rider is taken from Allman's 2012 biography My Cross To Bear. William Hurt, who was originally slated to play Allman, dropped out of the film following the accident. Allman himself even asked Miller to hold production on the film. When nothing happened, he filed a lawsuit in order to do so, but it was dropped.
Deadline reports that Jones' death is one of the "most egregious tragedies on a movie set in recent memory, because they were not permitted to be there." The accident also caused other crewmembers to be injured, but Jones was the only death on set.
As per Georgia law, trespassing is a misdemeanor carrying a potential 1-year sentence in prison. Manslaughter, on the other hand, can bring with it a 10-year sentence.
Along with Miller and Savin in the indictments was Midnight Rider's Executive Producer / Unit Production Manager Jay Sedrish, who has yet to turn himself in. Stay tuned for updates.
