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The truck driver from Wal-Mart who was charged in the fatal accident on the New Jersey Turnpike that critically injured comedian Tracy Morgan had not slept in more than 24 hours, according to The Huffington Post.
A criminal complaint was filed on Monday against Kevin Roper. Roper was driving the company tractor trailer when the crash occurred. He has been charged with one count of vehicular homicide and three counts of injury by auto. The complaint was filed in Middlesex County Court.
The complaint said that Roper had not slept “in excess of 24 hours,” which is a violation of state law in New Jersey. Roper is scheduled to make his first appearance in court on Wednesday.
A statement from Wal-Mart spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said that the company believes Roper was operating his truck “within the federal hours of service regulations.”
Lewis Kay, a spokesman for Morgan, said the comedian was in critical, but stable condition as of Monday. He is recovering from broken ribs, a broken nose and a broken leg.
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“His fiancée Megan is by his side. This recovery will be arduous,” the statement said.
James McNair, who performs as Jimmy Mack, died at the scene of the crash. Two other passengers from the limo bus were in critical condition at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey, according to spokeswoman Zenaida Mendez.
According to state police, Roper did not see traffic slowing down in front of him as he drove along the New Jersey Turnpike early Saturday morning in Cranbury Township. The truck slammed into the limo bus, flipping it and creating a chain-reaction crash that included four more vehicles.
Roper, who is from Jonesboro, Georgia, escaped the wreck unharmed.
A report from CBS News states federal data that shows Wal-Mart trucks have been in 380 crashes spanning the previous two years. These crashes have caused nine deaths and 129 injuries.
