9-1-1 crew member dies in car accident after work: 'Please stay safe out there'

9-1-1 crew member Rico Priem died early Saturday morning in a car accident.

Priem, who works as a grip on the show, was on his way home from a 14-hour shift on the Fox drama, having worked overnight on a location shoot on the series from Friday night into Saturday morning.

20th Television, who produces the show, confirmed the news to Entertainment Weekly and shared a statement, reading, "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."

Priem was a member of IATSE Local 80, having worked as a grip on a wide variety of titles, including S.W.A.T., Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Star Trek, and Christmas With the Kranks.

EW has reached out to representatives at IATSE Local 80 for comment.

His fellow grip and union member Nina Moskol posted a remembrance of Priem on social media, calling him, "an Extraordinary Best Boy Grip." She noted that she had been on set with him on Thursday night and that the two had discussed his upcoming plans for retirement.

Moskol pointed out that for crew members the riskiest part of their job is often their commute. "The two most dangerous parts of our days are getting to work, and getting home," she wrote. "Please stay safe out there. Grip safe. Drive safe. Get off the road if needed. Take the room."

The post also shared details of Moskol's last conversation with Priem on set. "He was on the cusp of retirement with his paperwork filed," she wrote. "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. He was so jazzed about what he had learned about retiring, he wanted to teach the ins and outs of retirement at the local. We had just talked about all of these things while sitting at the tailgate of the 10 ton on Thursday night."

A spokesperson for the AMPTP sent EW the following statement: “Our hearts go out to Rico Priem’s family, friends, and all of those who are impacted by this tragic loss of life."

Further details of Priem's accident are still to be determined, including whether or not he might have fallen asleep at the wheel or if the accident was unrelated to the length of his overnight shift.

But long hours increasing the riskiness of the profession are a long-standing point of contention between studios and IATSE. Back in 2021, one of the main issues in negotiating a new contract was curbing the lengthy hours on set without proper rest or turnaround time. A regular workday is typically 12 hours.

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IATSE is currently negotiating a new contract, but crew safety related to the length of the work day is far from a new issue. In 1997, camera operator Brent Hershman fell asleep at the wheel and was killed while driving home following a 19-hour workday on the set of Pleasantville. In 2006, cinematographer Haskell Wexler made a documentary, Who Needs Sleep?, taking IATSE leadership to task over industry working conditions.

In 2017, Riverdale star K.J. Apa was in a car accident as a result of falling asleep at the wheel after a day on set. He took responsibility, saying that he should have pulled over and gone to sleep. But he also later noted that his hours on set did not change following the accident.

Safety on set has also long been a hot-button issue. Back in February, a crew member on Marvel Studios' Wonder Man died after falling from the rafters on the set. Last month, several crew members were injured while filming an action sequence for The Pickup starring Eddie Murphy. And several legal cases are still ongoing surrounding the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust.