Remember in 2014 when Tracy Morgan was in that horrific crash after his show in Delaware? After all this time, the trucker who hit the van Morgan was travelling in has pled guilty to five criminal charges.
After Morgan’s comedy show that night, he and his friends were riding in a limo van on the New Jersey Turnpike when a tractor-trailer crashed into them. One of Morgan’s close friends and fellow comedian James “Jimmy Mack” McNair died in the crash, and Morgan and three other passengers were injured.
Morgan’s injuries were so bad that he was in a coma for two weeks. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and multiple broken bones. Only now, two years later, has he been able to resume performing as a comedian fully.
Walmart owned the truck that hit the limo. Walmart reportedly paid out millions of dollars to Morgan and McNair’s family.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the trucker didn’t slow down in a construction zone even though signs informing drivers of the work zone were clearly present. In fact, the NTSB concluded that until right before the crash, the semi was travelling 65 miles per hour (mph) in a 45-mph zone. The trucker admitted that he had been awake for almost 30 hours straight when the crash happened.
The driver, 37-year-old Kevin Roper, recently entered a guilty plea to five criminal charges: vehicular homicide and four counts of aggravated homicide. However, he avoided jail by agreeing to 300 community service hours and a three-year pretrial intervention program.
The latest development in this tragedy is that Walmart’s insurance company has reimbursed the retail giant in an undisclosed amount for the settlements with Morgan and McNair’s family.
Dealing with insurance companies after a serious accident can be intimidating, but experienced personal injury lawyers like the team at Alexander Law Group, LLP deal with insurers every day. Call us today at 888.777.1776 for a free case consultation. We help our clients recover monetary compensation for their injuries and expenses.