Alec Baldwin Reaches Settlement With Halyna Hutchins Family Over 'Rust' Shooting Incident
Alec Baldwin and Halyna Hutchins' family, a cinematographer who died while working on the "Rust" movie set in 2021, have settled a wrongful death lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
According to CNN, the lawsuit was filed in February in Santa Fe against Baldwin, the movie's production companies, producers, and other key crew members for breaking many industry standards.
Halyna Hutchins's Widower, Matthew Hutchins, Says He Will Executive Produce the Film
"We have reached a settlement, subject to court approval, for our wrongful death case against the producers of Rust, including Alec Baldwin," said Hutchins in a statement Wednesday.
"As part of that settlement, our case will be dismissed. The filming of Rust, which I will now executive produce, will resume with all the original principal players on board in January 2023," he added.
The agreement could end the "Rust" shooting incident, a strange disaster that shook the US entertainment industry and made people worry about how safe it was to work on a movie set.
A lot of people have different ideas about what led to the accident, Aljazeera noted.
Baldwin could still face criminal charges, according to the office of the Santa Fe District Attorney, which said on Wednesday that the settlement would not change their decision.
Baldwin was filming a scene in a small church when he pointed a prop gun at Hutchins and pulled the trigger.
Hutchins was killed, and the director, Joel Souza was injured. Baldwin says he did not fire the shot and had nothing to do with it.
"I feel someone is responsible for what happened, but I know it isn't me," Baldwin said in an interview in December 2021.
According to the family's February lawsuit, Baldwin was found to have "a significant portion of liability" for the incident. He was blamed for failing to inspect the gun to ensure it was empty of live ammunition.
Rust Shooting Incident Was an Accident, Says Investigator
After an autopsy was finished and a review of police reports, New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator concluded that the gunshot was an accident.
Matthew said that he is not blaming Alec Baldwin and the producers, and they believe that the death of his wife, Halyna Hutchins, was a terrible accident.
He continued the statement by saying that he is grateful that the entertainment community and the producers came together and paid tribute to her wife's final work.
Officials in New Mexico in charge of occupational safety regulations gave Rust Movie Productions a $137,000 fine because the production managers on the site did not follow industry standards for keeping weapons safe, PBS reported.
The state Occupational Health and Safety Review Commission will have an eight-day hearing on the disputed sanctions starting April 12, 2023. Filming of "Rust" may resume before they lift workplace prohibitions.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Bert Hoover
WATCH: Alec Baldwin, 'Rust' Team Reach Settlement In Halyna Hutchins Suit - From TODAY