Stuntman killed in blast

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Production suspended, but launch of 'Crow' still on track

MONTREAL — A stuntman died following an accident on the British Columbia set of the TV series “The Crow: Stairway to Heaven.”

Marc Akerstream, 44, suffered a severe head injury Saturday night when he was hit by a piece of flying debris caused by a controlled explosion on a rowboat at Minaty Bay, just north of Vancouver. Akerstream was not involved in the explosion itself.

The film crew was prepared for the explosion, said Cpl. Gary Brine of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

“The piece of debris was sent up in the air, cleared a large tree and came down to strike the victim on the head,” Brine said.

In a prepared statement, the office of Vancouver-based producers Crescent Entertainment extended “their deepest sympathy and condolences to his family.” “The Crow,” which is based on the “Crow” features, is an Alliance Communications presentation of a Crescent Entertainment production, with Crescent’s Gordon Mark producing and Edward R. Pressman and Bryce Zabel serving as exec producers. The series is syndicated in the U.S. by Polygram Television and is set to preem the week of Sept. 21.

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Production has been suspended, but is expected to resume Aug. 24 and the launch is not going to be delayed. Six of 22 episodes have been shot so far.

During the lensing of the original movie version of “The Crow” in 1993, actor Brandon Lee was killed on the set of the pic.

Akerstream’s friend and fellow stuntman Lauro Chartrand said Akerstream was a bystander when he suffered the fatal injury.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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