Riverdale star in car crash after 16 hours filming

New Zealand actor K.J. Apa was involved in a car crash near Vancouver last week following a 16 hour workday, raising concerns over work conditions.

The 20-year-old actor apparently fell asleep at the wheel while driving a 45-minute trip to his hotel after midnight and crashed into a light pole. He was taken to a hospital and discharged without serious injuries. The vehicle was rendered inoperable.

Warner Bros. Television disputes some of the details and said in a statement that “we are extremely grateful that K.J. Apa was uninjured during his recent accident.”

Actor Cole Sprouse, who co-stars as Jughead has asked that the Greg Berlanti-produced series provide transportation to cast members working late hours.

SAG-AFTRA said in a statement, “This is an extremely troubling situation and we are deeply concerned about the safety of performers on the Riverdale set.

“We are sending a team to Vancouver to review the circumstances surrounding safety issues affecting performers on this production.”

Updated: Warner Bros. Television issued a statement saying the safety of the cast and crew on all of our productions is paramount:

“Productions adhere to the Screen Actors Guild–mandated turnaround time of 12 hours from wrap time to next day call time for cast members. In accordance with industry standard policy, if any cast or crew member feels tired or unsafe at any time after working, the Studio will provide a taxi, a driver or a hotel room upon request. This is communicated to all cast and crew, both in writing and verbally, at the beginning of production and is reiterated continuously throughout the duration of production.”

Source: Hollywood Reporter