This thread will be dedicated to the victims of the Apalachee High School shooting.
Mason Schermerhorn, 14
His sister had circulated photos of him on social media when family couldn’t contact him. Because he was autistic, they thought he might have wandered off.
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On July 23, 1982, a helicopter encountered problems and crashed during the filming of the sci-fi horror film 'Twilight Zone: The Movie.' This terrible tragedy injured 6 people on the helicopter and claimed the lives of 3 actors on the ground. Among these 3 actors were 2 children: Myca Dinh Le from Vietnam and Renee Shin-Yi Chen from China. This accident later led to a lawsuit that lasted for years, but the outcome left many people upset.
In the scene of the accident, the character Bill Connor (actor Vic Morrow) is transported back in time to the middle of the Vietnam War. At this time, he transforms into a Vietnamese man protecting two small children from American soldiers.
Director John Landis violated California's child labor laws by hiring 7-year-old Myca Dinh Le and 6-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen to participate in the film without a permit. Landis knew that obtaining a permit would be difficult due to scenes involving explosives, so he illegally hired the two child actors. The person casting the children was unaware that they would come into close contact with explosives or helicopters. Additionally, according to labor laws, children are not allowed to work at night, another regulation violated by the 'Twilight Zone' film crew.
The fateful scene was filmed at Indian Dunes in California. In this scene, actor Vic Morrow's character carries two children out of an abandoned village and across a shallow river, chased by American soldiers and helicopters flying overhead. The helicopter was piloted by a former American soldier who fought in Vietnam—Dorcey Wingo.
During filming, Wingo maneuvered the helicopter to fly about 7.6 meters above the ground, hovering near a large detonator. While turning the helicopter 180 degrees for the next scene, the detonator was triggered while the aircraft's tail rotor was still above it. The explosion caused the rotor blade to break and separate from the tail, leading to the loss of control of the low-flying helicopter.
Simultaneously, Vic Morrow dropped Renee Shin-Yi Chen into the water. He was attempting to catch the girl when the helicopter crashed on top of him and the two children. The tragic outcome was that Vic Morrow and Myca Dinh Le had their necks severed by the helicopter's propeller, while little girl Renee Shin-Yi Chen was crushed to death.
During the trial, the defense argued that the detonator was triggered at the wrong time. A witness testified that executive producer Dan Allingham instructed Dorcey Wingo to leave the area when the detonator was triggered, but director John Landis radioed, demanding the helicopter to descend further, leading to the loss of control.
Cameraman Stephen Lydecker also testified that John Landis had previously disregarded warnings about this accident and even seemed to joke about losing the helicopter.
This accident resulted in civil and criminal lawsuits against members of the film's crew, lasting for a decade. Myca Dinh Le's father, Daniel Lee, testified that he heard director John Landis asking the helicopter to fly lower when the explosion occurred. All four parents of the two children testified that they were not informed in advance about the presence of fire or a helicopter on the studio set.
Despite considerable evidence pointing to director John Landis's negligence, what angered the public was the lack of convictions or accountability for the actors' deaths due to this accident. Director John Landis, Dorcey Wingo, and several others were tried and acquitted of manslaughter in a nine-month trial held in 1986 and 1987. The families of the two children were awarded millions of dollars in compensation due to this tragic accident.
#Eagles center Jason Kelce made a block here that allowed Jalen Hurts to score the game-winning touchdown.
Very few if any centers in the league make that play and allow their team to win👏