Stuntman hurt on TV show set
‘MacGyver’ stunt coordinator is in a coma, a source says.
A stunt coordinator was seriously injured this week on the Atlanta set of the CBS show “MacGyver,” the company said Wednesday.
Justin Sundquist, whose credits include “Captain America: Civil War” and “The Fate of the Furious,” suffered a head injury Monday when he fell off a moving vehicle, a person close to the studio said.
He was put into a medically induced coma and remains hospitalized, said the knowledgeable person, who was not authorized to comment. The reboot of the vintage action series is filming its third season.
“We have learned about an injury to stunt coordinator Justin Sundquist that occurred late Monday on the set of ‘MacGyver’ in Atlanta,” CBS Television Studios said in a statement. “The production team is cooperating with the authorities investigating the accident, and our primary concern at this time is Justin’s health and well-being.”
Entertainment news website Deadline first reported the accident.
It is not clear why Sundquist was performing the stunt. Stunt coordinators are usually responsible for setting up stunts and making sure they are safe for the performers, not taking part in the stunts themselves.
The incident was reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the U.S. agency that investigates workplace injuries, the person familiar with the matter said.
Representatives for Sundquist and OSHA could not immediately be reached for comment.
Sundquist sued CBS and multiple other defendants last year after suffering injuries on the set of another of the network’s reboots, “Hawaii Five-0.” He said he was struck by a moving car while on set, and accused the defendants of negligence. That case was eventually settled.
Although studios take precautions to protect performers during production, stunt work remains a dangerous occupation. The news of Sundquist’s recent injury comes just days after a stuntwoman sued Sony Pictures Entertainment over injuries she suffered on the set of the studio’s 2017 comedy “Rough Night.”
In January, the mother of stuntman John Bernecker, who fell to his death last year while working on the hit TV series “The Walking Dead,” filed a wrongful death lawsuit against cable network AMC.