‘She lived her life to the fullest’
‘Deadpool 2’ stuntwoman who died was a pioneering motorcycle racer
A stuntwoman killed while filming a scene for the movie “Deadpool 2” in Vancouver on Monday is being remembered as a pioneering motorcycle road racer who lived her life to the fullest.
Joi “SJ” Edwards was a true personification of her first name, friends say, as she exuded happiness and had an everpresent smile.
“She played by her own rules and lived her life to the fullest by following her motto: If it’s not a challenge, it’s boring,” said Kim Edwards, who said they were “besties” and she affectionately called Harris her “lil sis.”
“She will always have a place in my heart.”
The BC Coroners Service identified Harris, 40, as the stunt driver killed on the movie set in downtown Vancouver. Spokesman Andy Watson said Harris, a resident of New York City, died at the scene.
Witnesses said she appeared to lose control of her motorcycle while filming outside the Vancouver Convention Centre and crashed through a ground floor window of an office building across the street.
A memorial of flowers and candles has been set up at the scene in front of the boarded-up window. A message scrawled on one of the candles reads, “Brave, beautiful and free.”
Harris described herself on her website as the “first licensed African-American woman in U.S. history to actively compete in (American Motorcyclist Association) sanctioned, motorcycle road racing events.”
Kevin Elliott, president of the American Sportbike Racing Association, said Harris began racing with the association’s beginner-level Champion Cup Series in 2014 and this year moved up to a “feeder” series that is meant to prepare riders for racing at an expert level.
He said her other activities prevented her from competing enough to be automatically given expert status, but if she had requested it based on her 2016 and 2017 finishes, it would have been granted.
For the first two years she was racing on a bike that was too big, but when she switched to a bike that was more suited to her size, her talent showed itself to be “very promising,” he said.
“She was just a good, solid competitor. She rode well,” he said.
Harris hadn’t won yet, but she came in third at a race involving amateurs and experts in West Virginia in May, a proud moment for her, Elliott said.
A photo taken after the race shows her smiling next to her bike. She wore the number 24.
Harris loved the freedom, the excitement and the adrenaline rush that motorcycles brought her, said Elliott, adding he will always remember her smile.
“She would get off the track and even before she’d pull her helmet off, she’d have a grin from ear to ear. No matter what happened, whether it was good or bad during that race, she would always get off the bike just like she had won the race,” he remembered.
“It’s the pure joy of being able to get out and compete and do your best. She always showed that, every day.”