Last week saw the 20-year-old star of Riverdale, K.J. Apa, fall asleep at the wheel and crash his car after a long shoot said to be 14-16 hours long.
The Archie actor is said to be okay after having been taken to the hospital, but his vehicle suffered damage on the passenger side after hitting a lamp post leaving it un-drivable.
The long days of filming and now the accident is causing concern amongst the cast as THR reports Cole Sprouse, who is looked up to on set, is asking that the series provide transportation to actors while working late hours.
Deadline is also reporting that SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists ) is sending a team to Vancouver to investigate the accident and the long filming hours.
“This is an extremely troubling situation and we are deeply concerned about the safety of performers on the Riverdale set,” said SAG-AFTRA in a statement. “We are sending a team to Vancouver to review the circumstances surrounding safety issues affecting performers on this production.”
WBTV’s policy is that the actors are responsible for getting to and from set (K.J. Apa has a 45-minute drive each way), but WB did note that other options are available to the actors including that they can call a taxi or stay in a hotel near the set on the studio’s dime if they feel it is unsafe to drive.
Hollywood has suffered a string of accidents as of late regarding production including the Deadpool 2 accident that saw motorcycle racer S.J. Harris involved in a fatal crash, and an accident on the set of The Walking Dead Season 8 saw stuntman John Bernecker fall 22-feet to his death.
“The safety of the cast and crew on all of our productions is of paramount importance to the Studio,” WBTV said in a statement to THR. “Productions adhere to the Screen Actors Guild–mandated turnaround time of 12 hours from wrap time to next day call time for cast members. In accordance with industry standard policy, if any cast or crew member feels tired or unsafe at any time after working, the Studio will provide a taxi, a driver or a hotel room upon request. This is communicated to all cast and crew, both in writing and verbally, at the beginning of production and is reiterated continuously throughout the duration of production.”
