Deadpool ’ Stunt Crash Victim ID’d as First African-American Female Pro Road Racer; Director & Fox “Deeply Saddened” – Update
by Dominic Patten, David Robb, Anita Busch
August 14, 2017


A rookie stuntwoman who was killed in a motorcycle crash on the Vancouver set of Deadpool 2 has been identified as the first African-American female professional road racer. Joi “SJ” Harris was doing her first film as a stunt performer, Deadline has learned.

A spokesman for ACTRA confirmed her identity to Deadline, though she is not a member of the Canadian actors union. Production on the superhero sequel was shut down immediately after the fatality, and there’s no word on when filming will resume.



Deadpool 2 star Ryan Reynolds said in a tweet that he was “devastated” over Harris' death

It’s the second on-set death in North America in a month; John Bernecker suffered massive head injuries in a fall July 12 on the set of "The Walking Dead" and died shortly afterward.







Details still are coming in, but witnesses said the crew was filming a stunt sequence when Harris lost control of her motorcycle and crashed through a plate-glass window at Shaw Tower on West Waterfront Road near Jack Poole Plaza.

The stuntwoman was playing the Domino character in the sequence in the Ryan Reynolds superhero sequel. Actress Zazie Beetz is playing Domino in Deadpool 2.





A source close to the situation said Harris, who was an experienced road racer, had been rehearsing the stunt all day Saturday. A studio production source said that there were “two full days of rehearsals over the weekend, and on Monday, they ran the stunt five-plus times before filming.”

An eyewitness told Deadline that, on the last take, the bike seemed to accelerate when it was supposed to slow as she took the corner. Harris was not wearing a helmet when the accident occurred today because the Domino character did not wear one in the scene.





David Leitch, director of Deadpool 2 said in a statement to Deadline:

“I’m deeply saddened by the loss of one of our stunt performers today. No words can express how I and the rest of the Deadpool 2 crew feel about this tragedy. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and loved ones in this difficult time.”

A 20th Century Fox spokesman told Deadline: “We are deeply saddened by the accident that occurred on the set of Deadpool 2 this morning. Our hearts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of our crew member during this difficult time.”







According to her online bio, Harris began motorcycle riding in Brooklyn and in 2013 — after logging more than 1,500 training hours — became the first African American woman licensed to actively compete in American Motorcyclist Association races.

An injury from an on-track crash while training for her first race forced Harris to wait until 2014 to begin competing in the American Sportbike Racing Association/Championship Cup Series. Since then she had been an outspoken advocate for female racing.

http://deadline.com/2017/08/deadpool-2-stunt-driver-killed-on-set-vancouver-1202148277/

Deadpool 2 Crash Details Emerge in Death of Stuntwoman
by David Robb
August 18, 2017


A preliminary investigation into the accident that took the life of stuntwoman Joi “SJ” Harris this week on the Vancouver set of the Ryan Reynolds-starring Deadpool 2 suggests that the stunt might not have been all that difficult and that her death was the result of a freak low-speed accident.

An investigation report by WorkSafeBC, British Columbia’s version of the U.S. government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, obtained by Deadline and dated August 15, found that:



A temporary worksite had been setup to record a film scene for a movie production. The site had been cordoned off from general public and traffic by the Vancouver Police Department. The worker had been rehearsing a stunt scene that involved driving a motorcycle, Dictate 939 Hyperstrada, out of the open doors of a building, across a concrete pad and down a ramp that had been built over three stairs and coming to a stop on the stair landing.

During the first shooting of the scene the stunt driver continued driving beyond the planned stopping spot on the stairway landing, and continued to drive down a second ramp built over the bottom stairs and across the roadway. The motorcycle struck the concrete sidewalk curb, the worker was thrown off the motorcycle and propelled through a plate glass window of a building.





Deadline also learned that the crash Monday happened in second unit photography after Harris had completed five takes on the 20th Century Fox film already. It was after the sixth take that the motorcycle hit the curb.

“In the maneuver, which was never more than 15 kilometers per hour – [a little less than] 10 miles an hour – she rode on a flat surface through two open doors and then turned left and went out of camera range,” a source close to the production said.

“Her exit was a safety ramp to a big platform where the bike was supposed to stop, but she overshot the platform, hit a curb, and was thrown from the bike through a glass window.”





Harris was an experienced motorcycle rider, but this was her first movie stunt. The source said rumors that she was not qualified for the job, and was hired only because she was black and was doubling for an actress of mixed race, are untrue.

“To say an unqualified person was put in this position is absolutely untrue,” the source said. “She was the best candidate for the job.”





Production was halted immediately after the crash. The British Columbia Coroner told Deadline that day “a coroner attended the scene and an investigation is underway with The Vancouver Police Department and WorkSafeBC, which also is investigating this incident.” Harris reportedly was not wearing a helmet during the stunt work.

Production started up again 48 hours later and the cast and crew reportedly held for a moment of silence in remembrance of the 32-year-old Harris. Deadpool 2 is slated for a June 1, 2018 release.

http://deadline.com/2017/08/deadpool-2-stunt-death-crash-details-investigation-joi-harris-1202152152/