SAMUEL L JACKSON - JUMPER STAGEHAND KILLED

A stagehand on the Toronto, Canada set of SAMUEL L JACKSON's new thriller JUMPER was killed on Thursday (25JAN07) when frozen sand, earth and ice fell on him and other workers. Set dresser DAVID RITCHIE, 56, suffered serious head and shoulder injuries and died instantly. A second man was taken to hospital and a third managed to escape unharmed. Police officer JOANNE VERBEEK confirmed that sand and earth frozen to a wall for exterior design came unstuck as the set was being torn down and crushed Ritchie. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Verbeek said, "It was just an unfortunate, fluke accident." Filming in Toronto was completed on 15 January. Director DOUG LIMAN and his cast, which includes actor HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN, have since moved on to Tokyo to shoot more scenes.