“9-1-1” crew member Rico Priem reportedly died of heart attack driving home from set

Priem tragically died in his car on his way home after a 14-hour shift on the drama series.

9-1-1 crew member Rico Priem, who died in his car on his way home from a 14-hour shift on the Fox drama on May 11, died of a heart attack.

According to Variety, an autopsy report for Priem, 66, found that he died of a “sudden cardiac dysfunction.” An additional toxicology report was negative for drugs or alcohol. Entertainment Weekly has reached out to the LA County Medical Examiner for comment.

Priem, who worked as a grip on the show was a member of union IATSE Local 80, having worked on numerous productions, including S.W.A.T., Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Star Trek, and Christmas With the Kranks.

Related: 9-1-1 crew member dies in car accident after work: 'Please stay safe out there'

At the time of his death, he had worked overnight on a location shoot on 9-1-1 from Friday night into Saturday morning. At the time, it was not known whether or not he might have fallen asleep at the wheel or if the accident was possibly related to the length of his overnight shift.

Priem's death came amid negotiations between the studios and IATSE, with crew safety as it relates to the length of the work day being a hot-button issue in those talks. But long hours increasing the riskiness of the profession are a long-standing point of contention between studios and the union, including as recently as 2021, when one of the main issues in negotiating a new contract at that time was curbing the lengthy hours on set without proper rest or turnaround time. (A regular workday is typically considered to be 12 hours.)

Related: 9-1-1's Jennifer Love Hewitt and Kenneth Choi on that Buck reveal, surprise return, and Maddie-Chimney future

After news of Priem's death, his fellow grip and union member Nina Moskol posted a remembrance on social media, calling him, "an Extraordinary Best Boy Grip." "He was on the cusp of retirement with his paperwork filed," she wrote. "He had his already rich life planned for retirement, including spending time with his wife, watching his grand-nephew grow, riding his beloved Harley, and even gripping still to stay connected to his friends. He was so jazzed about what he had learned about retiring, he wanted to teach the ins and outs of retirement at the local. We had just talked about all of these things while sitting at the tailgate of the 10 ton on Thursday night."

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At the time, show producers 20th Television said in a statement, “On behalf of the studio and everyone at 9-1-1, we send our sincere and deepest condolences to Rico Priem’s family and friends.” Reps for 9-1-1 declined to offer additional comment.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.