A female stunt driver working on the movie 㽶ƵֱDeadpool 2㽶Ƶֱ has died after witnesses say she appeared to lose control of a motorcycle before crashing into a window of a building in downtown Vancouver.
A crumpled motorcycle was seen laying on its side surrounded by broken glass a few metres from the smashed window of the Shaw Tower near the city㽶Ƶֱs waterfront. Crew members appeared distraught and one was in tears.
㽶ƵֱShe lost control really quickly. It happened in a split second,㽶Ƶֱ said Nathan Kramchynski, who works inside the Shaw building and watched the accident from the seventh floor on Monday morning.
He said he had been watching rehearsals of the stunt across the street outside the Vancouver Convention Centre. The stuntwoman had been riding slowly down a set of stairs and stopping when she reached the road, he said.
When it looked like the crew was ready to film the scene, Kramchynski and his coworkers rushed over to the window to watch. But that time, the driver suddenly picked up speed and crossed the street, he said.
㽶ƵֱShe kind of weaved through, almost hit a pedestrian,㽶Ƶֱ he said. 㽶ƵֱShe was going full throttle and then there㽶Ƶֱs a building there.㽶Ƶֱ
Sharmina Kermalli was in a Starbucks on the ground floor of the tower when she heard a loud crash. She ran toward the noise and saw a woman lying inside the building, across where the glass panel had been.
Shards were still falling on the woman, and people were running over and picking glass off her face, Kermalli said.
Kermalli said just moments earlier she had walked by the spot where the crash happened.
㽶ƵֱI was thinking, what if I was just five seconds (later),㽶Ƶֱ she said.
Deadpool, a Marvel Comics superhero, is played by Vancouver-born actor Ryan Reynolds. He posted a message to Twitter on Monday.
㽶ƵֱToday, we tragically lost a member of our crew while filming Deadpool. We㽶Ƶֱre heartbroken, shocked and devastated 㽶Ƶֱ but recognize nothing can come close to the grief and inexplicable pain her family and loved ones must feel in this moment,㽶Ƶֱ he said.
㽶ƵֱMy heart pours out to them 㽶Ƶֱ along with each and every person she touched in this world.㽶Ƶֱ
㽶Ƶֱ Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds)
A spokesman for 20th Century Fox issued a statement Monday that said, 㽶ƵֱWe are deeply saddened by the accident that occurred on the set of Deadpool 2 this morning. Our hearts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of our crew member during this difficult time.㽶Ƶֱ
Vancouver police officers were at the scene and investigators with WorkSafeBC, the provincial workplace safety agency, were also looking into the crash.
Kramchynski, the witness who watched from the seventh floor, said a fire truck and police cars arrived 㽶Ƶֱinstantly㽶Ƶֱ after the crash happened.
㽶ƵֱThe response was actually incredible,㽶Ƶֱ he said.
He said he watched as the stunt woman was carried on a stretcher into the ambulance, which remained at the scene for about 15 or 20 minutes before leaving.
Later on Monday, the motorcycle was removed from the area and the broken glass was swept up.
The crash happened just half a block from the scene of an accident on Sunday where a bus hit several pedestrians, killing one man and injuring two others.