Deadpool 2 star Ryan Reynolds is mourning the death of a motorcycle stunt driver killed during production Monday.Reynolds released a statement on Twitter a few hours after the accident near the waterfront in downtown Vancouver.
“Today, we tragically lost a member of our crew while filming Deadpool,” the actor wrote. “We’re heartbroken, shocked and devastated … but recognize nothing can compare to the grief and inexplicable pain her family and loved ones must feel in this moment.”
Reynolds, a native of Vancouver playing the Marvel Comics superhero Deadpool in the 20th Century Fox movie, said his heart “pours out to them — along with each and every person she touched in this world.”
The motorcycle crash happened near the Shaw Tower office building, where a crumpled motorcycle was seen lying on its side and a window was smashed.
Nathan Kramchynski, who works on the seventh floor of the building, said he watched rehearsals for the stunt outside the Vancouver Convention Centre. The stuntwoman had been riding the motorcycle down a set of stairs from the center and stopped when she reached the street, he said.
But when the accident happened, the driver appeared to pick up speed, crossed the street and swerved to avoid pedestrians before disappearing from his view, Kramchynski said.
“She lost control really quickly. It happened in a split second,” he said. “She was going full throttle and then there’s a building there.”
Another witness, Sharmina Kermalli, said she had just walked into a Starbucks next door to where the accident happened when she heard a loud crash. She ran outside and saw glass still falling on the body of the motorcycle driver.