PISA, Italy, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Italian actor Raphael Schumacher, who was performing in the production of Mirages at Pisa's Teatro Lux, has been declared brain dead after a stage hanging went horribly wrong.
The 27-year-old actor was wearing a bag over his head last weekend while performing the scene, when the show's single spectator, a medical graduate, noticed his body trembling and suspected something was wrong. She immediately came to help and realized the rope around his neck was killing him.
Schumacher was taken to Cisanello Hospital and declared clinically dead Friday. The actor's family has reportedly authorized doctors to begin harvesting his organs for donation.
State-run Italian news agency ANSA reports four people are currently under investigation for manslaughter after Schumacher's death.
Police launched an investigation to check for safety violations, but said they believed it to be an accident.
Schumacher had changed the scene at last minute. The theater directors told Il Giorno newspaper that it was supposed to involve a gunshot instead of a hanging.
Posted by Raphael Schumacher on Tuesday, January 5, 2016
