SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – The director of an ill-fated movie about singer Gregg Allman said Friday that it’s “ultimately my responsibility” that his crew ended up on a Georgia railroad bridge in the path of a freight train that killed a camera assistant.
“Midnight Rider” director Randall Miller issued a statement to The Associated Press less than two weeks after he pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing. A judge sentenced him to two years in jail in rural Wayne County, where 27-year-old Sarah Jones of Atlanta died in the train crash Feb. 20, 2014. Six others also were injured.
“It was a horrible tragedy that will haunt me forever,” Miller said in a statement provided to The AP by a publicist. “Although I relied on my team, it is ultimately my responsibility and was my decision to shoot the scripted scene that caused this tragedy.”
Miller said he hoped his guilty plea had spared Jones’ family from the anguish of having to relive the crash at a trial. But he also denied he alone was to blame. He said “a great number of mistakes were made” by his assistants on the film crew, but acknowledged that he had failed to ensure “every safety measure was in place.”
“I have taken responsibility because I could have asked more questions and I was the one in charge,” Miller said.