Rico Priem, a crew member that worked as a grip on the ABC drama, “9-1-1,” died in a car accident early Saturday morning at the age of 66.
The grip worker was involved in a car accident on the highway after working a 14-hour overnight shift Friday night through Saturday morning on location in Pomona, California, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Priem was a member of the crew union IATSE Local 80. 20th Century Fox confirmed his death after crew members posted the news on social media. Fellow grip and IATSE Local 80 member Nina Moskol posted some tender words about Priem, noting that “he was on the cusp of retirement, with his paperwork filed.”
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“I had just worked with him the Thursday night before,” Moskol wrote to social media.
“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,” she said.
“He was so jazzed about what he had learned about retiring, he wanted to teach the ins and outs of retirement at the local. We had just talked about all of these things while sitting at the tailgate of the 10 ton on Thursday night,” she wrote, before admitting, “the two most dangerous parts of our days are getting to work, and getting home.”
A crew member named Rico Priem has sadly been killed in a car accident after a 14-hour overnight shift working on ABC’s ‘9-1-1’ series.
“Workers have a reasonable expectation that they can get to work and come home safely. No one should be put in unsafe circumstances while… pic.twitter.com/YT70K58ybE
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 14, 2024
Both IATSE and 20th Television issued statements about the tragedy.
“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,” IATSE said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
“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 wrote.
Folks below the line die to keep budgets in control.
Every 12 an actor does, a grip, a PA, an AD does 14 or more.
But they’re also the ones suffering the most now. Desperate for all the work they can get in the uncertainty.
RIP to Rico Priem and condolences to his family. https://t.co/8nKKfaqO65
— Alec Engerson (@AlecEngerson) May 14, 2024
“We are working to support our member’s family, their fellow members and colleagues. Safety in all aspects of the work our members do is our highest priority and we will assist in any investigation in any way that we can,” IATSE International President Matthew Loeb said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Priem worked on the sets of major productions, including “S.W.A.T.,” “Star Trek,” “Christmas with the Kranks,” “Ghost World” and “The Company You Keep,” to name a few.
His death comes on the heels of a series of on-set fatalities that have rocked the entertainment industry.(RELATED: Crew Member Dies On Set Of Marvel Studios Movie ‘Wonder Man’)
J.C. “Spike” Osorio died after falling from the rafters at Radford Studios while on set as a rigger for Marvel’s “Wonder Man” in February.
Multiple crew members were injured in an action sequence that did not go as planned on the set of Amazon-MGM Studios’ “The Pickup” in May.