A 22-year-old stand-in for the Netflix series outer bank was struck and killed in a hit-and-run accident early yesterday morning near Charleston, South Carolina.
Alexander “AJ” Jennings, who recently moved from New York to Charleston to work as a double/stand-in for actor Chase Stokes, was struck by two vehicles as he walked along Sol Legare Road, a main thoroughfare on James Island, between 2 :30 and 3 am on July 5.
The incident did not occur during filming or on location.
According to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, Jennings was struck first by one vehicle, which fled the scene, and then a second vehicle, which also fled.
The driver of the second vehicle was later pulled over in a traffic stop.
Jennings’ death was confirmed by Kimmie Stewart Casting, which is working on the show.
“It is with great sadness that I share on Tuesday Alexander “AJ” Jennings’ mother informed me of his tragic death,” Stewart wrote on Facebook. “outer bank crew & cast a terrible loss when AJ was stuck by two cars, that fled the scene early this morning.”
Stewart continued, “AJ was a beautiful, kind soul & a bright light every day on set. He moved to Charleston from New York to work as our John B photo double/stand in this season. I cannot fathom the shock and tragedy of AJ’s sudden loss and our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time.
Stokes, in an Instagram Story post, wrote, “Still trying to process why certain things happen, and why the world works in the ways that it does. My heart is shattered. Your life was just starting. We JUST talked about how pumped you were about your tunes, how far you’d come with that ole 6 string and your want to keep creating art. Always always making others hearts warm and being so damn selfless I wish I had more words to say right now, but the past day has been a struggle to say the least. We all loved you, you touched all of our lives and made us all better people, and for that Thank You AJ. Fly high angel.”
According to Stewart, Netflix is making grief counseling available. “I am still at a loss of words how this happened & cannot imagine the pain his family is going through,” she wrote. “We will miss this amazing human & his infectious smile dearly.”
No charges have yet been filed in the collision.
outer bank is filming its third season in Charleston, South Carolina and surrounding areas.