Gregg Allman Biopic Director Pleads Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter
Randall Miller, the director of a biopic about Gregg Allman, has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter following the death of a camera assistant last year. Last August, he had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to CBS News, Miller pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a train crash that killed the camera assistant and injured six others in February 2014. In exchange, similar charges against his wife, who was his business partner, will be dropped. Miller will spend two years in jail and eight years on probation for the involuntary manslaughter charge as well as a charge for criminal trespassing. He also will pay a $20,000 fine as part of his plea.
Last February, Miller and the crew were filming a scene for Midnight Rider on a Georgia railroad bridge when a freight train, traveling 55 miles per hour, crashed into the crew. "They didn't think a train was going to come, but a train came, they tried to get the bed off the tracks," Deadline's David Robb told CBS News. "The train hit the bed, and the bed hit [the camera assistant] and knocked her into the train and she was killed."
An executive producer also pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing, but he won't be going to jail and was instead served a probation sentence for his role in the accident. CBS reports that this a rare example of filmmakers being prosecuted for an on-set death.
There's been no update on the movie since last year, when Allman sued Miller from starting up production again. CBS News says they settled out of court last year and terms were never publicly disclosed. Meanwhile, Allman will launch a spring tour in Ohio on Friday and stay on the road until early May.
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