Part of lawsuit settled in Allman movie filming death in Georgia

By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - The parents of a camera assistant killed on the rural Georgia set of "Midnight Rider," a film about rock singer Gregg Allman, has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed against the film's production company and director, the parents' lawyer said on Wednesday. Sarah Jones, 27, was hit by a train in February while part of a crew setting up equipment on railway tracks and a trestle bridge near Savannah in an event that left eight others injured and sparked industry anger about safety standards for film crews. Unclaimed Freight Productions Inc., the production company, did not have permission to be filming on the tracks, authorities have said. Jones' parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit over the incident in May. The defendants settling on Wednesday include the production company, film director Randall M. Miller, producer Jody Savin and executive producer Jay Sedrish, said Jeffrey Harris, the Jones family's attorney. The terms of the settlement, which does not include the railroad, CSX Transportation Inc., are confidential, Harris said. The suit initially included Allman and "Midnight Rider" executive producer Michael Lehman, both of whom were dropped as defendants after an investigation found they had no role in the decisions that led to Jones' death, Harris has said. Miller and three others involved in the film's production still face criminal charges connected to the incident. Jones' parents filed the suit to find out how the accident occurred, to determine who was responsible and hold them accountable, and to ensure similar events are avoided in the future, Harris said. "Today, we are another step closer to fully achieving those objectives," Harris said in a statement. Messages left with Unclaimed Freight Productions Inc. and CSX Transportation Inc. were not immediately returned. (Editing by Jonathan Kaminsky and Sandra Maler)