The director of Taxi2, GerardKrawczyk, was put under police examination last week for involuntarymanslaughter following the lethal accident causing the death of a cameraman onAugust 16, 1999 during the shooting of the film produced by Luc Besson, accordingto judiciary sources.

Alain Dutartre,41, died from head injuries hours after a Peugeout 406 car fitted with specialair foils and intended to land in a pile of cardboard after flying over twotanks in an action scene missed its landing spot and hit the cameraman, killinghim and injuring his assistant, Jean-Michel Bar, 26, who suffered two brokenlegs.

Taxi 2's head stunt coordinator, Remy Julienne,was placed under official investigation for involvement in the accident inApril. Julienne, who has worked on several James Bond films, has in turn blamed the productioncrew for faulty safety measures used in an attempt to save money, stating thata remote-controlled camera should have been used to prevent the risk to thecameramen.

Luc Besson, whosefilms include The Fifth Element, The Big Blue, and La Femme Nikita, was also interrogated for the accident in June2002.

Next in line tospeak to police will be Thierry Guilmard, a producer working for LucBesson's production company, in an effort to determine the circumstancesof the accident and whom is to blame.

Besson, who wasnot on the set when the accident happened, insists that all safety measureswere followed, and that the accusations of cost-cutting in the name of safetyare "absurd."

Topics