It was a scary day for Riverdale fans when they heard KJ Apa was in a car accident last week driving home after a 14-hour work day filming an episode of the hit CW series, in Vancouver, Canada. The 20-year-old actor, who plays the lead role of Archie Andrews, apparently fell asleep at the wheel during his 45-minute trip home sometime after midnight, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was treated by first responders and luckily didn't have any serious injuries but his car was totaled since the passenger side hit a light pole. Now, the actor is sharing his side, setting the record straight as to what really happened that night.

"That was just a one-off accident, and it was a mistake on my part. I should have pulled over and gone to sleep instead of battling my way home," KJ said to Esquire. "But I learned from it. It was a blessing in disguise. I came out unscathed, and I thank God that I’m okay— it could have been a lot worse."

Sources told THR that since word of this accident spread, many were not happy at all with how production is going, since the cast and crew film late at night and into the early mornings and everyone has to drive themselves to and from the set. Cole Sprouse, who plays Jughead and IRL is very close friends with KJ, and was said to have asked that the show provides transportation for the actors when they are working so late at night. He was apparently supposed to accompany KJ on the drive back but ended up changing his plans. Had he been in the car too, this situation would have truly been something much more serious and it's chilling to think about.

Warner Brothers Television released an official statement regarding the car accident, factors that led to it and what happened afterward.

"First and foremost, we are extremely grateful that KJ Apa was uninjured during his recent accident. Secondarily, we want to specifically address the characterization that conditions on the set of Riverdale are of concern. We have a large cast of series regulars, and our actors do not work every day," the statement reads. "On the day of the accident, KJ worked 14.2 hours. The previous day he worked 2.5 hours, and the day before that he worked 7.7 hours. KJ has repeatedly been informed about making production aware if he is tired or feels unsafe, and if so, either a ride or hotel room will be provided for him. The accident occurred last Thursday. Additionally, it is untrue that KJ was taken to the hospital. He was treated by first responders on the scene and released by them. We also sent a doctor to his home later that same day for a follow-up to confirm his well-being."

This situation is nothing to mess around with, at all and the official Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists was supposedly going to send a team to the Riverdale set to further investigate the situation.

"This is an extremely troubling situation and we are deeply concerned about the safety of performers on the Riverdale set," the SAG-AFTRA in a statement. "We are sending a team to Vancouver to review the circumstances surrounding safety issues affecting performers on this production."

According to KJ, nothing much has changed since the accident and he's fine with that.

"The schedule didn’t change. It’s still a requirement for the actors to drive to work, which is fair enough. The crew works longer than we do, and they have to drive back and forth to work every day," he said.

Right after word got out about the accident, the whole cast seemed to be in good spirits, at least from what we could see in their social media posts. Cole took to his Instagram story to share pics of KJ, Camila Mendes and Lili Reinhart all trying on Jughead's hat.

camila kj lili jughead hat

Cami also shared a pic of KJ hanging out on set in-between takes too.

kj camila instagram story

It looks like everyone is doing just fine after this shake-up, and we're glad to know KJ is just doing just fine.

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