State Probes Fatal Stunt at Paramount : Movies: Inquiry into death of stuntwoman is prompted by fire safety officers’ lawsuit.

A movie stunt that resulted in the death of a Paramount Studios stuntwoman is being investigated by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a state official said Tuesday.

Stuntwoman Sonya Davis landed on the corner of an air bag after she leaped several stories from a building this month. Part of Davis’ body hit the pavement, leaving her critically injured. She died of her injuries Nov. 16.

Davis was performing the stunt for Paramount’s upcoming film, “Vampire in Brooklyn,” which is being directed by Wes Craven, the writer and director of the original “Nightmare on Elm Street.”

Rick Rice, spokesman for the Department of Industrial Relations, the agency that oversees Cal/OSHA, said that the department received notification of the accident Nov. 4 and is interviewing witnesses.

“Not much can be said at this time because we really aren’t at liberty to discuss ongoing investigations,” Rice said.

The incident was revealed at a news conference Tuesday announcing a lawsuit filed by a group of certified fire safety officers. The officers are trying to force the city to overturn a set of new regulations that replaces their inspections with random spot checks made by uniformed fire officers.

A copy of Paramount’s filming permit notes “Dummy from building onto parked car” as a special effect being performed on the day of the shoot but does not list Davis’ stunt.

Michael Bobenko, senior permit coordinator with the city Film and Video Permit Office, said that ideally, movie companies should list all stunts on the permit.

“But it’s not something we would have been overly concerned with because when it comes to the safety of their own crews we assume that they (production companies) would be responsible,” Bobenko said.

Manny Chavez, deputy state fire marshal in charge of the film division, said stunts should be coordinated with whatever government agency has jurisdiction.

“Because it was not specifically spelled out in the permit, no government agency was aware of the stunt,” Chavez said. “Whether a government agency being aware of the stunt would have helped at all, that is difficult to say.”

Paramount declined to comment pending the completion of its investigation of the accident.