A crew member working on an American TV series was Ki**ed in a car accident after working a 14-hour day on set, it’s been reported.
Rico Priem, 66, had been working on the set of the ABC procedural drama, which stars a cast including , and .
It’s been claimed that after he had finished work, Priem was driving on the freeway in when his car left the road and flipped over.
Matt Loeb, president of the labour union the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), released a statement of the ‘tragic loss’ of Priem.
‘Everyone in the IA family is shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic loss. We are working to support our member’s family, their fellow members and colleagues,’ he said.
‘Safety in all aspects of the work our members do is our highest priority and we will assist in any investigation in any way that we can.’
The also added: ‘Early on Saturday morning after working 14 hours of an overnight shift for an episodic television production, a member of IATSE Local 80 died in a tragic freeway accident in Los Angeles.
‘We are fully committed to the safety and the well-being of all our members and express our heartfelt condolences to the member’s family.
‘Workers have a reasonable expectation that they can get to work and come home safely. No one should be put in unsafe circumstances while trying to earn a living.’
20th Television, which produces the series, offered condolences in a statement, which read: ‘On behalf of the studio and everyone at 9-1-1, we send our sincere and deepest condolences to Rico Priem’s family and friends.’
reported that it had requested further details regarding the accident from the California Highway Patrol.
According to the publication, another crew member called Nina Moskol wrote in a social media post that she had been working with Priem on Thursday night, and eh was ‘on the cusp of retirement’.
‘He had his already rich life planned for retirement, including spending time with his wife, watching his grand-nephew grow, riding his beloved Harley, and even gripping still to stay connected to his friends,’ her message read.
‘He was so jazzed about what he had learned about retiring, he wanted to teach the ins and outs of retirement at the local.’
She added that Priem was ‘a wonderful man, charismatic, vibrant, connected to people on shows everywhere’, and was a ‘writer’s dream of a working man’.
