TV 9-1-1 crew member Rico Priem 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. By Lauren Huff Lauren Huff Lauren Huff is a writer at Entertainment Weekly with over a decade of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry. After graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook 'em, Horns!), Lauren wrote about film, television, awards season, music, and more for the likes of The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood, Us Weekly, Awards Circuit, and others before landing at EW in May 2019. EW's editorial guidelines Published on June 18, 2024 10:33PM EDT 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. An autopsy report for Priem, 66, found that he died of a "sudden cardiac dysfunction," the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. A secondary cause was listed as "cardiomegaly with left ventricle hypertrophy" — a condition where the heart becomes enlarged and the left ventricle thickens, according to the Mayo Clinic — with no other significant conditions cited. 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. 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 he might have fallen asleep at the wheel or if the accident was possibly related to the length of his overnight shift. Rico Priem. GoFundMe 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.) 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." Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. 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.