A crew member from the ABC series “9-1-1” died in a car crash early Saturday morning following a 14-hour overnight shift. Rico Priem, who was a grip for the ABC first-responder series, was involved in a car crash after working Friday night through Saturday morning on location in Pomona.
“On behalf of the studio and everyone at ‘9-1-1,’ we send our sincere and deepest condolences to Rico Priem’s family and friends,” 20th Television said in a statement shared with TheWrap.
Priem was a member of the crew union IATSE Local 80, which issued the following statement: “We are fully committed to the safety and the well-being of all our members and express our heartfelt condolences to the member’s family. Workers have a reasonable expectation that they can get to work and come home safely. No one should be put in unsafe circumstances while trying to earn a living.”
Colleague Nina Moskol, who is also a member of IATSE Local 80, wrote on social media that Priem “was on the cusp of retirement, with his paperwork filed.”
She added, “He had his already rich life planned for retirement, including spending time with his wife, watching his grand-nephew grow, riding his beloved Harley, and even gripping still to stay connected to his friends. He was so jazzed about what he had learned about retiring, he wanted to teach the ins and outs of retirement at the local.”
Moskol continued, “The two most dangerous parts of our day are getting to work and getting home. Please stay safe out there. Grip safe. Drive safe. Get off the road if needed. Take the room.”
Fellow IATSE member Emily Blake wrote on Twitter, “Another crew death… This has to stop.”
Richard Sanchez, a VFX editor, reshared Moskol’s post on Twitter, adding remembrances of previous crew deaths in 1997 and 2014. “This needs to stop. Every crew member deserves to get home safely,” he wrote.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.
