Catching segments of the Oscars this past Sunday I was struck by the very brief mention of the assistant camera woman who recently lost her life on set after being hit by an oncoming train. After the various names of stars and Academy members who had lived long lives with prosperous careers seeing the name of this 27-year old woman who senselessly died on set seemed particularly poignant. Today I read the Hollywood Reporter article How Sarah Jones Lost Her Life and was struck by the tragedy of the event. From the article it seems that the production was beyond reckless in terms of safety and having spent the morning discussing insurance and risk management for a production class I couldn’t help but recognize that sometimes the consequences of recklessness are more than financial. 

Of course her family and friends must be devastated by the loss but from what I have read it sounds like the film world and women in film have also lost an incredible asset. As the article notes:

By her early 20s, Jones was making headway in an industry discipline overwhelmingly male, physically grueling and tough to sustain for very long: camerawork. LaBonge remembers her huffing with lots of gear, always smiling, never complaining. On the set, she was known as “The Ant” because of her ability to carry heavy objects that dwarfed her.

— Jennifer Dean