A traffic crash in Mexico last week killed two actors from an upcoming original series by Netflix and injured six other people, according to officials and media reports.
The killed actors, Raymundo Garduno and Juan Francisco Aguilar, were in a van that accidentally flipped Thursday in a patch of desert near the community of Mulege on the Baja California Sur peninsula. Other cast and crew members were hurt during the wreck, which reportedly occurred offset but during filming of the show The Chosen One.
Friends of Aguilar – who performed under the name “Paco Mufote” – told media outlets that he had previously complained about poor transportation and logistics by those involved in running the show, and they called for an investigation.
“Paco touched the hearts of everyone he ever met – he was a great actor with a strong trajectory,” Liliana Conlisk Gallegos said to the Daily Beast. “He loved acting and playing music more than anything in the world and he dedicated himself to it, many times suffering economic hardship. He sacrificed for his love of acting.
“It fills me with rage that there are reports of abuse and exploitation being shared by people involved with the production. I would like to demand that this is further investigated. If nothing wrong was going on, then there shouldn’t be an issue with providing the information.”
Writer Faisal Lutchmedial, who said he worked with Mufote previously, added in a tweet that he was “absolutely devastated” and “furious” to hear allegations of “bad safety measures” on set.
Netflix hasn’t commented on the fatal crash, and more details about what exactly caused the van to flip haven’t been made available. The Chosen One is being filmed by an independent production company.
The Chosen One is about a 12-year-old boy who realizes he’s the second coming of Jesus Christ and is tasked with saving humanity. It is reportedly unrelated to a Portuguese series of the same name.