50 Cent's 'Power' shuts down after crew member is killed by car at Brooklyn location
A 63-year-old production assistant for "Power," Curtis (50 Cent) Jackson's Starz series, was struck and killed by an SUV in Brooklyn early Monday, shutting down production of the sixth season of the show.
New York Police Detective Martin Brown Lee said Pedro Jimenez, a longtime employee of the series who lived in the Bronx, was placing traffic cones in a parking lane for the production shortly after 4 a.m. EST Monday when he was struck by a 2006 Ford Explorer, driven by another crew member, on Douglas Street.
Filming had not yet begun for the day.
The 64-year-old driver of the SUV remained at the scene, police said. Jimenez was taken to Brooklyn Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"It is unknown why the vehicle moved and lost control," Brown Lee told USA TODAY in an email. "No arrests at this time but this incident is still under investigation" by the NYPD's Highway Collision Investigation Squad.
Jackson posted to Twitter after he heard the news.
"I just learned we lost Pedro Jimenez, a member of the Power production team early this morning. My prayers and condolences are with the entire Jimenez family," he wrote.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of the members of our 'Power' family,” Starz said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with Mr. Jimenez’s family as we work to fully understand what has happened.”
Jimenez has been with the series, which debuted in 2014, since its first day of production.
"Power," a crime drama about drug dealers, centers on James St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick), who wants to get out of dealing and focus more on his legitimate nightclub business. Meanwhile, he's trying to avoid the cops, his marriage is crumbling, and rival drug dealers such as Kanan Stark (50 Cent) are hovering.
The show, created by Courtney A. Kemp, is one of the network's most-watched cable shows.
Production on the show was shut down temporarily out of respect for the family, and to allow the cast and crew time to process the tragedy.
Deaths on entertainment sets and locations are sadly not uncommon. Earlier this year, the film company involved with the AMC hit "The Walking Dead" was fined following a government investigation into a tragic on-set stunt. John Bernecker, 33, died when he fell more than 20 feet filming a scene on the set outside of Atlanta in July 2017.
In October, a man working on the Mister Rogers film starring Tom Hanks died after an on-set fall in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. Police said James Emswiller, 61, a sound mixer, was on a break between scenes on Oct. 11 when he went over a brick wall on the balcony of an apartment building and fell two stories.
Emswiller, whose fall may have been triggered by a medical issue, was transported to the University of Pittsburgh's medical center, where he died about an hour after his fall.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 50 Cent's 'Power' shuts down after crew member is killed by car at Brooklyn location
