A crew member working on an American TV series was killed 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 9-1-1, which stars a cast including Angela Bassett, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Peter Krause.
Bassett is among those who have paid tribute to Priem, explaining that colleagues on set came together for a service ‘to offer whatever we can do to his family’.
It was claimed that after Priem finished work, he was driving on the freeway in California 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 IATSE 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.’
The Hollywood Reporter reported that it had requested further details regarding the accident from the California Highway Patrol.
Speaking to ET, Bassett said in honour of Priem: ‘The studio, 9-1-1, we all extend our deepest condolences to his friends to his family. It was just a very, very sad moment. We’re all rocked by it, certainly.’
The Black Panther star continued: ‘It’s the first time [we experience death]. We have births, you know, we have weddings and now to experience this.
‘We just had to take a moment, just take time and take a moment. We thought it was important to come together and have whatever bit of service and offer whatever we can do to his family, ’cause we know that we’ll miss him but we know they will miss him even more.’
Bassett added that ‘so many beautiful words were spoken of him’ when the cast and crew came together to remember Priem.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, 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.’
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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’.
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