‘9-1-1’ Crew Member Killed in Crash on California Freeway After 14-Hour Shift

The cast and crew of rescue drama 9-1-1 are mourning the loss of one of their own.

Rico Priem, a crew member on the ABC series, was killed on a California freeway early Saturday, May 11. He was 66.

Priem had just finished working a 14-hour overnight shift in the Los Angeles area when the accident occurred, Variety reported Monday.

Citing the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the outlet said Priem was traveling in a Toyota Highlander north on the 57 Freeway at Via Verde in San Dimas, east of Los Angeles, when his vehicle left the road, went up an embankment, and flipped over landing on its roof.

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The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed Priem’s death in its online records database. The website listed his name as Richard Priem and said he was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) said Priem was a member of IATSE Local 80 and had just completed a 14-hour shift before he died.

“Everyone in the IA family is shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic loss. We are working to support our member’s family, their fellow members and colleagues,” IATSE President Matthew D. Loeb said in a statement on the union’s website.

The statement urged members to notify the union about workplace safety concerns.

“We are fully committed to the safety and the well-being of all our members and express our heartfelt condolences to the member’s family,” the union said. “Workers have a reasonable expectation that they can get to work and come home safely. No one should be put in unsafe circumstances while trying to earn a living.

20th Television, which produces 9-1-1, expressed its condolences.

“On behalf of the studio and everyone at 9-1-1, we send our sincere and deepest condolences to Rico Priem’s family and friends,” the studio said in a statement.

Before 9-1-1, Priem worked in the camera and electrical department on Major Crimes, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, The Closer, and S.W.A.T., as well as on the films American History X (1998), Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), Star Trek (2009), and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), according to his IMDb page.