Railroad safety rules raised in trial over film worker death in Georgia

[TexasTowelie]

Attorneys accusing a railroad owner of negligence in the death of a movie worker during a 2014 train collision with a trespassing film crew sought Wednesday to use the railroad’s own safety policies against it.

Sarah Jones, 27, was killed by a freight train that slammed into a film crew shooting “Midnight Rider,” a movie about the life of singer Gregg Allman. The crash happened on a Georgia railroad bridge where the crew was filming actor William Hurt in a hospital bed placed on the tracks, though owner CSX Transportation had denied permission to production managers.

But a civil lawsuit by Jones’ parents being tried in Chatham County State Court in Savannah says CSX shares equal blame with production managers who never told Jones and other crew members they were trespassing. They say the railroad should have taken safety precautions to slow the train before the crash Feb. 20, 2014.

Jeffrey Harris, an attorney for Jones’ family, showed the trial jury Wednesday a policy from CSX’s employee rulebook that says train operators must “immediately notify a dispatcher of any unauthorized outside party on a track or right of way.” The policy also states: “Be especially cautious around bridges and tunnels.”

Read more: http://evans.allongeorgia.com/railroad-safety-rules-raised-in-trial-over-film-worker-death-in-georgia/