Making big budget action movies is dangerous work. Sometimes, it’s not all movie magic. You need extras and you need to put them in controlled situations and make it look like chaos. If anyone doesn’t do their job, things can go horribly wrong. And even if everything is checked and double checked, things can go horribly wrong.

Cedillo's car

Unfortunately for 24-year-old aspiring actress Gabriella Cedillo, things went horribly wrong. She was an extra in Transformers 3 and was driving her own car in that highway scene. She was supposed to dodge debris.

On the other side of the road a cable pulling one of the stunt cars snapped and smashed right into her windshield. It sliced right through her skull. ”She lost about a third of the top of her head,” Cedillo’s attorney told a Chicago affiliate of NBC.

It’s been two years since that incident and she still needs round-the-clock care. Her medical bills have tallied to about $350,000 and she’ll have a “permanent brain impairment.” Today, her and her family finally received their settlement from Paramount, DreamWorks, Michael Bay and others involved. The total is $18.5 million.

Cedillo and the 80 other extras were paid $25 for their work that day. [NBC Chicago via Vulture]

film set accidents, transformers 3