Following the accident on the set of L.A.’s Finest that left showrunner Brandon Sonnier with a partial leg amputation, the show has become the target of an investigation by safety officials.
A representative from the division of Occupational Safety and Health of California told The Blast that an accident investigation was opened after the incident in San Pedro on Feb. 21.
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The focus of the investigation is on L.A.’s Finest production company, Mesquite Productions, and to “determine the cause of the incident and correct workplace safety violations.”
Cal/OSHA has six months to issue citations, The Blast reports. The inspection process reportedly typically takes a few months.
Sonnier has since returned home following the amputation. He and co-showrunner Brandon Margolis were both injured during a car stunt scene and rushed to the hospital. Margolis was quickly released, but Sonnier’s injury was reportedly so severe that he had to have one of his legs amputated just below the knee, Deadline reported last week. The Blast reports that he had his foot amputated.
Sonnier has reportedly returned home from the hospital, and a GoFundMe page helped raise over $38,000 to go toward his medical bills. Charter Communications, who picked up the show as its first original program, donated $5,000, while executive producer Jonathan Littman donated $10,000, according to The Blast.
L.A.’s Finest is a spinoff from the Bad Boys movie franchise starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba. The upcoming series, set to premiere on Spectrum, was Sonnier’s big break after signing a two-year overall deal with Sony Pictures Television in August with Margolis. The two made their way up at Sony since starting as staff writers on The Blacklist; L.A.’s Finest is their first series as creators.
In L.A.’s Finest, Union reprises her Bad Boys II role of Syd Burnett, a police detective with a complicated past who relocates to Los Angles from Miami, finding an odd partner in Alba. Alba plays Nancy McKenna, a working mom envious of Syd’s off-the-job freedom.
It’s unclear if Union or Alba were on set at the time of the accident, which occurred in the final days of shooting for the upcoming first season.
L.A.’s Finest is set to premiere on Monday, May 13 on Spectrum.
