CSX Ordered to Pay $3.9M in Georgia Train Death of Allman Film Crew Member

A railroad owner plans to appeal a jury’s decision that it must pay $3.9 million to the family of a movie worker killed on a Georgia railroad trestle in 2014, a spokesman for the company said. The jury in Savannah decided in a July civil verdict that CSX Transportation shared the blame for the deadly freight train collision even though the film crew was trespassing.

The parents of Sarah Jones sued CSX in Chatham County State Court. The 27-year-old camera assistant died in the crash Feb. 20, 2014, during the first day of shooting “Midnight Rider,” an ill-fated movie about Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band.

“This trial disclosed a number of exceptionally poor judgments and ignored opportunities by CSX Transportation to prevent this tragedy,” Jones’ parents, Richard and Elizabeth Jones, said in a written statement.

A spokesman for the Florida-based company, Rob Doolittle, said CSX plans to appeal the jury’s decision.

Jones’ family also sued the film’s director, production managers and several other defendants. All except for CSX settled or otherwise resolved their cases out of court. The jury found $11.2 million to be the total value of Jones’ life as well as her pain and suffering. Jurors decided CSX – the only defendant on trial – bore 35 percent of the responsibility for Jones’ death, making the railroad’s share $3.9 million.