Wal-Mart Driver Charged Over Tracy Morgan Crash

Kevin Roper is accused of manslaughter after the truck he was driving crashed into the comedian’s limo, killing one man.

THE truck driver accused of crashing into a limo last year, injuring comedian Tracy Morgan and killing one of his friends, has been indicted by a grand jury.

Kevin Roper faces charges of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second-degree vehicular homicide and eight counts of third-degree aggravated assault following the crash in June last year.

Roper, of Jonesboro, Georgia, was driving a Wal-Mart truck when the crash occurred on the New Jersey Turnpike.

Comedian James McNair was killed while Morgan and others were left seriously injured Morgan.
Morgan, a former 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live star, suffered brain trauma, broken ribs and a broken leg.

He made his first public appearance at the Emmy Awards in September where he thanked everyone for their support.

Roper’s lawyer David Glassman said he wasn’t surprised by the indictment after 18 months of negative pretrial publicity, a settlement with Wal-Mart and the company admitting “full responsibility before anyone walked into a courtroom”.

Aggravated manslaughter carries a 10 to 30-year prison term upon conviction, while a death-by-auto charge carries a five to 10-year prison sentence. Each assault-by-auto charge is punishable by up to 18 months in prison.

An National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded in August that Roper hadn’t slept in the 28 hours before the crash, a finding Mr Glassman has disputed.

The report concluded Roper failed to slow down immediately before the crash despite posted warning signs on the turnpike.

The board said Morgan and other passengers in the limo were at fault for not wearing seat belts and for adjusting headrests, which it said contributed to the severity of their injuries when the vehicle was struck from behind. news.sky.com

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