LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A judge ruled that the Imperial County coroner does not have to turn over to USC 36 photos of a cinematographer who was killed in a 2022 off-road vehicle crash during a USC student film shoot in that county, images the university maintained were necessary in defending against a lawsuit filed by the family.
The Los Angeles Superior Court complaint was brought by Hualan Wang and Hua Sun, the father and mother, respectively, of the late 29-year-old Peng "Aaron" Wang. On Friday, Judge Anne Hwang denied USC's motion for production by the Imperial County coroner of 36 photographs taken at the crash scene and during Wang's autopsy.
USC lawyers maintain that although the coroner's office produced documents regarding the autopsy and Wang's injuries, the office maintained a court order and payment of $6 per photo was required before they could turn over the images.
"There is no reason to withhold these photographs nor has the coroner, or any other party, made an attempt to state such," USC attorneys argued in their court papers.
But according to the judge, USC's motion was filed five days late and although the university argued it would be prejudiced if Hwang did not grant its motion, the school's attorneys did not provide her with the legal authority to do so.
USC also did not provide a declaration that its attorneys had discussed the matter with the Imperial County coroner, leaving the judge without direct information regarding the coroner's position on the photo release. In their court papers, USC attorneys stated that the coroner declined to release the photos without a court order and payment of $6 per photo.
Also named as defendants in the plaintiffs' suit are the film's director, Ting Su, and producer, Biangliang Li, both of whom are USC students and Chinese nationals.
"Asking film students to handle and oversee all of their own on-set safety without oversight is like asking an elephant to fly, according to USC's own faculty," the suit states.
In a previous statement, USC responded to the suit, saying, "USC was not responsible for Mr. Wang's tragic death. We will be sharing the facts about our robust safety procedures and safety record in court."
Wang was a Chapman University film student recruited by the USC students to serve as their cameraman for "Finale," a movie about the hallucinations and death of a man in the desert, the suit states. Filming took place in the Glamis Dunes, east of Brawley, and Wang died from injuries sustained when a Can-Am off-road vehicle, driven by Li, rolled down one of the dunes on April 15, 2022, the suit states.
Wang's Imperial County death certificate, attached to the suit, states he died of blunt neck trauma.
USC documents and statements "are clear that USC is aware of the risk of injury or death on student film projects in general, and particularly on film locations far from L.A., in the desert, and utilizing (off-road) vehicles," the suit states. USC had the responsibility and ability to exercise control over its students and its school film projects, according to the suit.
However, the university was "negligent in the exercise of that control on the `Finale' production" instead of fulfilling its obligation to protect Wang from harm, the suit filed in September 2022 states.
The suit contends USC actively recruits Chinese students such as Li and Su to enroll in its film school, yet fails to teach them to identify and react to the inherent dangers of film-making.
Su and Li themselves were negligent in their provision of planning, control and safety in that they did not ensure Li had the proper training to drive the vehicle and that Wang would be protected, the suit states.