Warner Bros.’ response to KJ Apa’s accident raises more Hollywood safety concerns

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Hollywood was shaken up by the deaths of stuntmen on The Walking Dead and Deadpool 2, making Riverdale star KJ Apa’s car accident even more concerning.

Typically, people work about 40 hours a week. That’s considered full-time in most people’s eyes. If we all work five days a week, our normal work days are about eight hours long. And to most of us, that’s more than enough.

So imagine working 12 hours. Maybe even 15. It’s a little crazy, right?

Well, that’s the case for a lot of people who work in television. There are a lot of moving parts on set, delays happen all the time, and it’s all about sticking to the schedule. Because when you don’t, somebody starts to lose money.

Over the summer, news broke that two stuntpeople were killed on the set of two high-profile projects: The Walking Dead and Deadpool 2. Regardless of how it happened, the events struck barely even a month apart and really opened people’s eyes to how dangerous it can be for people who risk their lives doing crazy things for the sake of a good take. Of course, there are rules and guidelines in place, and one expects that both AMC and Fox would be more careful.

But if two big brands like that can slip up, it’s not that outrageous to see something similar happen under The CW, or more specifically, Warner Bros. According to initial reports, Riverdale star KJ Apa fell asleep at the wheel after a 16-hour workday. Luckily, he came out okay. But it still begs the question as to why he had such a long day … and why he lived 45 minutes away from set. Apparently, “drowsy driving” is about as dangerous as drunk driving, so what happened?

Well, here’s the official statement from Warner Bros:

"“First and foremost, we are extremely grateful that KJ Apa was uninjured during his recent accident. Secondarily, we want to specifically address the characterization that conditions on the set of Riverdale are of concern. We have a large cast of series regulars, and our actors do not work every day. On the day of the accident, KJ worked 14.2 hours. The previous day he worked 2.5 hours, and the day before that he worked 7.7 hours. KJ has repeatedly been informed about making production aware if he is tired or feels unsafe, and if so, either a ride or hotel room will be provided for him. The accident occurred last Thursday. Additionally, it is untrue that KJ was taken to the hospital. He was treated by first responders on the scene and released by them. We also sent a doctor to his home later that same day for a follow-up to confirm his well-being.”"

What a nice damage control letter from a huge studio, right? Like, ‘hey, we sent him a doctor, he’s fine. Don’t worry about.’ It’s easy for this to blow over because Apa was alright. But what if he wasn’t? I’m not even a Riverdale fan, but just think about the implications of what could’ve happened.

What if he hit someone else, and they got hurt? All because he was on set for too long.

Related Story: Has Marvel’s Inhumans already been canceled by ABC?

There’s an investigation being conducted regarding the conditions on set, but I mean, I’m sure this story will go away shortly regardless. At least, until something else happens and someone else is hurt.