Stuntwoman’s Death Is Ruled an Accident

Authorities in Florida have decided not to press charges in the death of a Woodland Hills stuntwoman who was killed on the set of the Walt Disney Co. film “Gone Fishin’ ” last year.

Minor negligence and inexperience on the part of a stunt coordinator and a boat driver contributed to the accident that killed Janet Wilder, said Deputy Collier County Attorney Mike Provost. But, he said, those factors did not add up to homicide.

Reckless disregard for Wilder’s safety by Disney and the production crew would be needed to justify such a charge, Provost said,

“The culpable negligence statute requires a recklessness or indifference to what might happen almost to the extent that it’s an intentional act,” Provost said.

Wilder, 29, died in her husband’s arms last December after a stunt went wrong and a fast-moving boat plowed into her. The boat was supposed to have slid up a ramp, flown through the air and landed near her.

Wilder and her husband, Scott, were playing a couple interested in buying a boat, and they were supposed to get out of the way when the stunt craft came near.

Provost said that although there would be no charges filed, a state investigation did turn up several irregularities with the stunt.

The driver of the boat, he said, was inexperienced with boat stunts. And the stunt coordinator was also unfamiliar with them, he said.

The boat hit Janet Wilder because the driver failed to line it up correctly on the ramp. It was going faster than it had gone in rehearsal, but speed was not a contributing factor in the accident, Provost said.

Provost said the inexperience of the driver and the stunt coordinator did not add up to criminal negligence because the company tried to compensate for it. The driver received lessons in piloting boats, and the stunt coordinator made a point of hiring the Wilders and Scott Wilder’s father, Glenn, who were experienced with boat stunts.

Scott Wilder said in an interview that he does not intend to file a civil suit in connection with his wife’s death. And he said that he and his wife knew that choppy sea conditions and a high tide on the day the stunt was performed made it more dangerous than originally planned.

Beverly Fox, director of the Southwest Florida Film Commission, said television and film production had been increasing in Collier and adjacent Lee counties in the last two years, contributing more than $10 million annually to the local economy.

In addition to “Gone Fishin’,” three other feature films were shot in the greater Naples-Fort Myers area last year, including “Just Cause” with Sean Connery and “Captiva Island” with Ernest Borgnine.

The stuntwoman’s death “hasn’t affected us as far as I can tell,” Fox said. “We are still getting inquiries and nobody from the production companies asks me about it. It is just a very sad thing that happened and it just happened here.”