Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Stuntwoman Olivia Jackson Needs Arm Amputated After Resident Evil On-Set Accident
Olivia Jackson, a stuntwoman who worked on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, will reportedly get her arm amputated after being involved in an on-set motorcycle crash while filming Resident Evil:The Final Chapter in South Africa this September.
An experienced stuntwoman, Jackson has worked on numerous blockbuster films, including Mad Max: Fury Road and Guardians of the Galaxy, Metro reported. However, while filming for Resident Evil's latest installment, she accidentally crashed into a malfunctioning metal camera arm, which didn't lift up in time. This sent Jackson’s bike out of control and caused her to crash. She wasn't wearing any protective gear or a helmet during the sequence.
Jackson was in a coma for two weeks after the crash, and suffered from brain swelling and bleeding, a severed artery in her neck, a crushed face, a paralyzed arm — perhaps from the five nerves that were "torn out of the spinal cord" — and a lost thumb. She also broke several ribs, her scapula (shoulder blade), clavicle (collarbone), and humerus (arm).
Jackson is now in stable condition and under proper medical care; however, due to the extent of the injuries to her left arm, Jackson has since been told that the limb will need to be amputated. Despite the grave injuries, Jackson is just happy to be alive.
Mila Jovovich, the movie’s star and the actress for whom Jackson was stunting for, said the cast and crew have been praying for Jackson’s recovery every day since the accident. But it's still unclear whether the movie’s production company, Constantin Film, will take responsibility for the incident, Newser reported.
Though Jackson’s story is shocking, tragic stuntman and stuntwoman accidents are apparently more common than we'd expect. Other notable incidents include that of David Holmes, a stuntman for Daniel Radcliffe, who became paralyzed while filming the Harry Potter movies after being thrown against a wall and injuring his neck. Even more tragic was the death of Vin Diesel’s stuntman Harry O’Connor, who died in a car crash during the filming of 2002’s XXX. Five stuntmen, on average, die each year from filming, according to Newser.