Resident Evil stuntwoman suffered ‘hallucinations and nightmares’ after motorbike crash on set

Resident Evil stuntwoman Olivia Jackson has spoken out about the horrific accident on set that left her partially paralysed, revealing she had the “deepest, darkest, heaviest hallucinations and nightmares” after the motorbike crash.

In September 2015 when Jackson was shooting stunts for Resident Evil, a fight scene she was due to appear in was cancelled and she was instead asked to stand in for Milla Jovovich in a high speed motorcycle stunt.

But the scene went terribly wrong when a crane-mounted camera did not raise up quickly enough as she drove towards it.

Jackson, who was wearing a vest top, ripped jacket and khaki jeans, was not required to wear a helmet for the stunt, and the heavy camera slammed into her upper body and face, leaving her with catastrophic injuries including brain swelling, dozens of broken bones, a permanently dislocated shoulder and a twisted spine.

She also had to have her left arm amputated and spent 17 days in a coma.

Four years on, Jackson has told The Hollywood Reporter about a hallucinatory vision she had after the accident, where she was jerked around a bridge at lightning speed while tethered by rope to a motorcycle.

“You just have the deepest, the darkest, the heaviest hallucinations and nightmares, one after the other,” said Jackson. “They’re so vivid, so real, you think that’s reality.”

Last week Jackson filed a lawsuit against the producers of the film accusing them of “elevating financial considerations over safety”.

None of the companies mentioned in the lawsuit responded to The Hollywood Reporter’s request for comment.

“Numerous things were changed at the last minute that I wasn’t aware of,” Jackson said in the new interview. “Which resulted in the crane operator not lifting the crane in time and basically driving it straight into my left arm and left shoulder.”

The camera ripped a portion of her jaw off, leaving her teeth exposed.

“It’s had such a huge impact on every single part of my life, my body is so physically damaged and a lot of it beyond repair,” said Jackson. “Every single moment of my time I’ve got nerve pain.”

The upper-right area of Jackson’s body remains paralysed, including part of her face.

“One of the hardest things is I lost the life I loved,” she says, “I knew that I would never work again. I loved my job with all my heart.”

According to the report, Jackson is on the road to recovery and has been practising kickboxing and meditation as well as volunteering at an equestrian centre that helps elderly people with dementia.

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