Sarah Jones’ Family Reaches Settlement in ‘Midnight Rider’ Civil Case

“Richard and Elizabeth Jones’ objectives in filing this lawsuit, after the death of their 27-year-old daughter, Sarah, have been clear and unwavering,” says family attorney

Sarah Jones
Sarah Jones/Facebook

The family of Sarah Jones agreed to settle their civil lawsuit in the “Midnight Rider” case with several defendants on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for the family’s attorney.

The parties included in the settlement agreement include Unclaimed Freight Productions, Inc.; Randall M. Miller; Jody Savin; Charles Baxter; Jay Sedrish; Jay Sedrish, Inc.; Don Mandrik; Hillary Schwartz; Mike Ozier; Epozier Films, Inc.; and Rayonier Performance Fibers, LLC. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Miller, Savin, Sedrish and Schwartz face criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass. Their trial will begin in March.

Jones, a camera assistant, was killed on Feb. 20 by a train while shooting the Gregg Allman biopic “Midnight Rider.”

“Richard and Elizabeth Jones’ objectives in filing this lawsuit, after the death of their 27-year-old daughter, Sarah, have been clear and unwavering,” said family attorney Jeff Harris in a statement to TheWrap.

“To find out what happened on the day of their daughter’s death, determine who was responsible, hold those who made bad decisions accountable and ensure this kind of tragedy never happens again on another film set. Today, we are another step closer to fully achieving those objectives.”

Sarah’s father, Richard Jones also said in the statement: “Elizabeth and I are dedicated to ensuring that our daughter’s death is not in vain, and through our work with the Sarah Jones Film Foundation we continue to advocate for safer film sets — keeping safety always at the forefront, never again an afterthought. Safety for Sarah.”

As TheWrap previously reported, Jones was struck by a train after the production placed a hospital bed on a railroad trestle bridge while filming in in Wayne County, Ga. The crew expected only two trains to pass by, but a third freighter train came across the bridge at a speed estimated by witnesses of 60 miles an hour. Debris from the hospital bed was responsible for injuring others as they attempted to escape the oncoming train.

Her family announced in October that Allman, manager Michael Lehman and distributor Open Road Films, were being dropped from the case.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

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