Horror Movie Crew Member Electrocuted in Set Accident: IATSE Addresses James McEvoy’s Death

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), a union made up of crew members on film sets, is mourning the loss of one of their own this week.

64-year-old film crew member James “Trapper” McEvoy was killed during production of a new movie shot in Louisiana on Monday. According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, he was high up on a boom truck when he came into contact with a high-voltage, energized power line. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Today we grieve the loss of one of our fellow members who was killed in a tragic incident on a production filming in Louisiana,” an IATSE spokesperson said in a statement. “Our deepest condolences are with the family who lost a loved one, and the crew who lost a friend and colleague. All workers have a right to safety on the job.”

He was working on Kill Me Now, an independent horror flick set to begin filming this Tuesday. The incident leading to his death occurred around 1 PM Monday, at Magnolia Lane Plantation on River Road in Bridge City. The plantation was previously used as a backdrop for Steve McQueen’s Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave.

“We are devastated by the tragic loss of James ‘Trapper’ McEvoy, a beloved member of the New Orleans film community,” Lynn Gilman Williams, the horror film’s lead producer, said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to his family, friends and all who knew him and worked alongside him during this difficult time.”

The IATSE, meanwhile, has “engaged the Entertainment Community Fund to provide counseling for crew members” and is “sending an IATSE representative to Louisiana to support the members and Local Unions on the ground there.”