Details revealed of biker’s death on film set

VANCOUVER • The stuntwoman killed on the set of Deadpool 2 this week had been thrown off a motorcycle and propelled through a plate-glass window, according to British Columbia’s workplace safety agency.

The agency’s initial incident report released Friday confirms witness accounts and adds new details to Monday’s tragic crash in Vancouver during filming.

The report, which only refers to SJ Harris as the “worker,” says she had been rehearsing a stunt that involved driving a motorcycle out the open doors of a building, across a concrete pad and down a ramp that had been built over three stairs before coming to a stop.

“During the first shooting of the scene the stunt driver continued driving beyond the planned stopping spot on the stairway landing, and continued to drive down a second ramp built over the bottom stairs and across the roadway,” it says.

“The motorcycle struck the concrete sidewalk curb, the worker was thrown off the motorcycle and propelled through a plate-glass window of a building.”

The coroner’s service has said Harris, 40, of New York City, died at the scene.

Friends have identified her as a pioneering motorcycle racer who was an inspiration to African-American women pursuing the sport.

WorkSafeBC is continuing to investigate and has asked the local production company to conduct both a preliminary investigation, which was due Wednesday, and a full investigation, due one month from the incident.

The full investigation is required to determine the cause of the crash, identify any unsafe conditions, acts or procedures and outline what will be done to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Studio 20th Century Fox confirmed a preliminary report was submitted on Wednesday.

Witnesses said Harris appeared to lose control of the motorcycle before swerving to avoid a pedestrian and crashing into the glass window of the Shaw Tower in downtown Vancouver.

The WorkSafeBC report says she was riding a Ducati 939 Hyperstrada.

The report does not indicate whether Harris was wearing a helmet. Deadline Hollywood, an online magazine, said no helmet was worn because the character in the movie was not wearing one. The stunt was reportedly Harris’ first job in the movie industry, but the WorkSafeBC report makes no mention of her experience.