Taraja Ramsess, a stuntman who worked on several Marvel movies, including Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame, lost his life and three of his children in a horrific car crash in Atlanta on October 31, 2023. He was 41 years old.
A Broken-Down Tractor-Trailer Causes the Fatal Accident
According to the Atlanta police, Ramsess was driving his car on Interstate 20 with his five children when he collided with a tractor-trailer that had broken down on the left lane of the Wesley Chapel Road exit. The impact was so severe that it caused the car to catch fire and eject two of the children from the vehicle.
Ramsess and his 13-year-old daughter Sundari, his 10-year-old son Kisasi, and his 8-week-old daughter Fugibo were pronounced dead at the scene. His 3-year-old daughter Shazia was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. His 6-year-old daughter Nia survived the crash with minor injuries.
The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured and cooperated with the investigation. The police said that the tractor-trailer had mechanical issues and the driver was unable to move it off the road. The driver had placed warning triangles behind the vehicle, but they were apparently not enough to prevent the collision.
Ramsess Was a Talented and Versatile Filmmaker
Ramsess was a stuntman, actor, and martial artist who had a passion for filmmaking. He had worked on several blockbuster movies, such as Black Panther, Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, The Suicide Squad, and Creed III. He had also worked in the art department on projects like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Walking Dead, and The Vampire Diaries.
Ramsess was part of the crew at Ava DuVernay’s distribution company ARRAY. DuVernay, who directed Selma and A Wrinkle in Time, paid tribute to Ramsess on her Instagram account. She shared a photo of him on the set of her Netflix series When They See Us and wrote:
“My goodness, did he love his children. A happy, whole love. Beautiful to behold. He loved making movies and TV too. Held many positions over the years. Immersing himself in all aspects of the craft. I remember one day on set, we didn’t have enough Black background actors for a key scene. I had to recruit my crew members to be on-camera. Taraja was the first to say yes. Yes, I’ll do my real job and then jump into this wild scene playing a tough guy with a gun for you. From there — everyone else said yes too. He was that kind of person. A leader. A light.”
Ramsess Is Survived by His Mother and His Remaining Children
Ramsess’ mother, Akili Ramsess, a photojournalist and the executive director of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), announced the death of her son and his children on her Instagram account. She also shared photos of them and expressed her grief and gratitude for the support she received.
“All who knew and met him know how special Taraja was. He had a deep capacity for love and loved his children more than all. He loved his martial arts, motorcycles and all things related to filmmaking. He a very droll yet wicked sense of humor & yet could be as cornball corny as can be,” she wrote.
She also asked for prayers and donations for the medical expenses and funeral arrangements of her family. A GoFundMe page has been set up by Ramsess’ friend and X3 Sports trainer Tony Tucci, who described him as “a family man” and “a leader”. The page has raised over $100,000 as of November 7, 2023.
Ramsess is survived by his mother, Akili, his 3-year-old daughter, Shazia, his 6-year-old daughter, Nia, and his other children from previous relationships.
