You may not know Taraja Ramsess’s name, but you probably know his work. He worked as a stuntman on multiple movies, including both “Black Panther” films as well as “Avengers: Endgame,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” just to name a few.
Ramsess lived in Atlanta with his family, including his five children — the youngest was just eight weeks old. Tragically, over the weekend, Ramsess was in a fatal car crash. He was behind the car’s wheel when his car collided with a tractor-trailer that had broken down in the left lane.
Tragically, Ramsess and two of his children, 13-year-old Sundari Ramsess and 1-month-old Fugibo Ramsess, both died from the crash. Two more of his children had serious injuries that required them to go to the hospital. One of those children, 10-year-old Kisasi Ramsess, did not survive his injuries.
Ramsess’s mother confirmed her son’s death in an Instagram post where she shared multiple pictures of him and her grandchildren. She wrote, “Oh God! I can’t believe they’re gone!”
She shared some of the things she loved about her son, such as his sense of humor and his multiple passions in life. She wrote, “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.”
Ramsess was also a crew member for the distribution company ARRAY, which was created by filmmaker Ava DuVernay. Upon learning the news of Ramsess’ death, DuVernay shared a tribute to him on Instagram. Along with multiple photos and a short video, she wrote that she thinks of him as “regal.” She said he “walked like a king.” She remembers how much he loved his children and “making movies.” She called him a “leader” and a “light.”