Safety violations led to death of stunt driver on Deadpool 2 set, WorkSafeBC says

The filmmakers behind Deadpool 2 violated multiple workplace safety rules in the leadup to the death of a stunt driver in downtown Vancouver two years ago, investigators have found.

WorkSafeBC released results Wednesday of its investigation into the August 2017 death of 40-year-old Sequana Joi "SJ" Harris, who was thrown off her motorcycle and propelled through a plate glass window.

The investigation report says that TCF Vancouver Productions Ltd., a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox, failed to:

• conduct a risk assessment addressing things like safety controls, speed and limitations of the motorcycle.
• provide Harris with new worker orientation.
• make sure Harris was wearing safety headgear
• erect barriers to make sure Harris stayed within the set perimeter.
• provide adequate supervision.

WorkSafeBC says the company violated three sections of the Workers Compensation Act and two sections of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.

The workplace safety body is now considering an administrative penalty against TCF, which handles Fox productions in B.C.

Harris was an experienced motorcycle racer, but had no prior experience as a stunt double before working on Deadpool 2.

At the time of her death, she was rehearsing a scene that involved driving a motorcycle out the open doors of the Vancouver Convention Centre. She lost control and failed to stop where she was supposed to, striking a median and then flying off the bike into the branches of a tree and through a window.

The report says no risk assessment was done to determine at what speed the motorcycle would become airborne as it travelled off the first ramp, nor to see if the addition of a second ramp would cause Harris to travel over the first ramp at a greater speed.

The Ducati motorcycle selected for use in the scene is designed to navigate on smooth surfaces and certain adjustments made to the bike meant it was a "poor choice" for use in situations where it may fly into the air, the report says.

In 2017, there were 103 serious injury claims in the arts and entertainment industry, as well as more than 600 time-loss claims, according to WorkSafeBC statistics.

'Safety is our top priority'

In a statement, a spokesperson for Twentieth Century Fox said: "Safety is our top priority, and while we respectfully disagree with some of the report's findings, Fox thoroughly reviewed its stunt safety protocols immediately following the tragic accident and has revised and implemented enhanced safety procedures and enforcement."

It did not elaborate on the findings it disagreed with in the WorkSafeBC report.

TCF could not be reached for comment. The report says TCF operates out of Mammoth Studios in Burnaby, B.C., but a woman who answered the phone at the studio said no one affiliated with TCF or the Deadpool 2  production remained on site.