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‘Transformers 3’ wraps early in Chicago after an extra is injured

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The production company filming “Transformers 3” scrapped plans to film its final scenes in Chicago after a bank teller working as an extra was critically injured this week, a city official said Friday.

Filming of the action movie was scheduled to be completed Thursday, with final scenes of the Michael Bay film being shot at Millennium Park, the city said. Those plans were canceled after 24-year-old Gabriela Cedillo was struck in the head Wednesday night during filming in Hammond, Ind.

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“ ‘Transformers’ has completed their filming in Chicago,” said Richard Moskal, director of the Chicago Film Office in the Mayor’s Office of Special Events. “The filming that was canceled [Thursday] was not rescheduled.”

Cedillo remained unconscious Friday, in critical but stable condition at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, relatives said. The family was gathered at the hospital, but Cedillo had not regained consciousness, the relatives said.

“We haven’t talked to her,” said her mother, Rosa Cedillo, adding that there were no immediate plans for surgery.

The production company released a statement saying, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Gabriela, her family and loved ones. We are looking into what caused the accident.”

Meanwhile, the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration has begun an investigation into the incident, according to spokesman Marc Lotter. He said OSHA must first determine whether Cedillo, as a paid extra, was hired as an independent contractor or as an employee. If she was hired as an employee, OSHA would have jurisdiction.

“We’re looking into the general circumstances that led to the accident and the employment status of the victim,” Lotter said. “Once we determine the circumstances, we will look into if there were safety violations or training issues.”

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Cedillo was injured as the movie crew filmed a scene in Hammond that involved drivers moving along a busy highway as explosions went off in the opposite lane. A metal object smashed through the windshield of her car and struck her in the head. Her car continued moving, skidding along the inner median concrete barrier for about a mile before coming to a stop, Indiana state police said.

--Dahleen Glanton, Chicago Tribune

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