‘Midnight Rider’ Trial: Assistant Director Hillary Schwartz Found Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter

Director Randall Miller pled guilty to the same charge on Monday

Sarah Jones
Sarah Jones/Facebook

“Midnight Rider” first assistant director Hillary Schwartz was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass on Tuesday, the Wayne County District Attorney’s office told TheWrap.

Schwartz, however, won’t do any jail time for the charges stemming from the death of camera assistant Sarah Jones (pictured above). Instead, she was sentenced to 10 years probation and must pay a $5,000 fine.

Under the terms of her probation, she cannot serve as a director, producer, first assistant director or any department head responsible for crew safety on any film or TV production. Her past assistant director credits include “The Italian Job,” “Sweet Home Alabama” and “We Are Marshall.”

Schwartz, who pled not guilty when she was indicted in September, waived her right to a jury and received a bench trial.

Schwartz faced the same charges as director Randall Miller, producer Jay Sedrish and producer Jody Savin.

Miller received the harshest punishment after pleading guilty on Monday. According to his attorney, he will spend one year in jail, pay a $25,000 fine and complete 360 hours of community service.

Like Schwartz, he’s also prohibited from serving as a director or assistant director during his probationary period.

As a result of the plea deal, Savin — also Miller’s wife — was dismissed from all charges.

Sedrish pled guilty, and reached a deal with no jail time. He has to pay a $10,000 fine and will be sentenced to 10 years probation, while also barred from serving as a director, first assistant or second assistant director in any supervisory production capacity that involves the safety of employees.

Jones, 27, was killed when a train hit her on Feb. 20 of last year while filming a dream sequence scene on a bridge that lies above the Altamaha River. Several crew members were injured during the incident, as well.

The filmmakers of the Greg Allman biopic are charged with putting Jones and the entire crew in danger by filming on a busy railway without the proper permits.

Comments