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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Lawsuit over 'Transformers' injury


Gabriela Cedillo dreamed of becoming an actor.

A month after the Little Village woman was hit in the head by a piece of flying metal during the shooting of the movie "Transformers 3," Cedillo can only mouth words and is unable to walk.

"Never did we think she was going to be put in danger," said Cedillo's older brother, Adolfo Romo, Tuesday, as the family filed a negligence lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against Paramount Pictures, the company making the movie. Cedillo was an extra in the movie.

Cedillo, who remains at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, is able to write short notes to her family, her brother said, but has no recollection of the accident, which happened during the filming of a stunt in Hammond, Ind. Her prognosis remains uncertain, Romo said.

An attorney for Cedillo said her injuries were the result of "carelessness."

On Sept. 21, Cedillo was one of dozens of extras driving their own cars during the filming of a stunt. When a chain connecting a flatbed truck to a stunt car accidentally broke free, the chain smacked, whiplike, into the hood of Cedillo's car and then smashed through her windshield and into her head.

Cedillo's attorney, Todd A. Smith, said the welding was poor, and the mechanism connecting the chain to the stunt car was "sort of done on the fly."

Smith also said extras, including Cedillo, were never told of any possible risks associated with the filming on that day.

Paramount issued a statement Tuesday, which said: "We are all terribly sorry that this accident occurred. Our thoughts, prayers and best wishes are with Gabriela, her family and loved ones. The production will continue to provide all the help we can to Gabriela and her family during this difficult time."

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