Production Halted on Gregg Allman Movie After Atlantan Killed in Accident

Production has halted on the Gregg Allman movie "Midnight Rider" following the death of Atlanta cinematographer Sarah Jones, reports AccessAtlanta.com.

Jones, 27, died Feb. 20 in Savannah when she was struck and killed by a freight train during filming, reports the Los Angeles Times. Seven other crew members were injured in the incident.

Jones was working as a second camera assistant when she was struck by a freight train roaring along a bridge where the movie was being filmed, the newspaper reports. While the film’s production company and crew had permission from the railroad to shoot near the railroad tracks, they did not have permission to be on it, authorities said.

In the past week the City of Savannah Film Office had received permit requests to resume filming at two private residences, but the interim director on the film later confirmed to Access Atlanta that production has halted for now.

To honor Jones, her friends and family launched a "Slates for Sarah" social media campaign, prompting crew members worldwide to post comments and pictures of Sarah's name written on film slates on Facebook and Twitter.

To date, the Slates for Sarah Facebook page has more than 44,000 likes, with dozens of photos mentioning Jones on slates – the board that claps together to mark the beginning of a scene.

Notables observing Jones include the British hit “Downton Abbey,” the Kevin Bacon series “The Following,” the CBS hit “Blue Bloods,” the medics on the set of “CSI,” and the “Vampire Diairies,” a series she worked on for several years.

An Atlanta service in her memory is planned for this weekend, the website said, although no specifics have been posted.

The Slates for Sarah Facebook page also includes a link to a petition calling on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize her in Sunday’s Oscar In Memorium tribute, the Times says.

The accident investigation will explore the question of whether the film crew had permission to be on the tracks, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department told the Los Angeles Times. 

Camera assistant Tony Summerlin told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the crew had discussed train safety ahead of time.

"It was explained that trains come by," he said. "A couple did come by. It was explained there could be more."