Feds say trucker in Tracy Morgan crash was speeding
A report on the crash that seriously injured comedian Tracy Morgan and killed one of his friends says the driver of a tractor-trailer was speeding before the crash.
The preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board says trucker Kevin Roper was driving 65 mph at the time of the June 7 crash.
The report says that about a half-mile south of the crash on the northbound New Jersey Turnpike, signs advised drivers to slow from 55 mph to 45 mph because of construction ahead.
An earlier criminal complaint alleges Roper hadn't slept for more than 24 hours before the accident when he swerved to avoid slowed traffic on the turnpike and plowed into Morgan's limo.
The crash killed fellow comedian James McNair and seriously injured two others. Morgan is hospitalized with a broken leg and other injuries. A rep for Morgan said earlier this week that he has been upgraded to fair condition and that "his personality is certainly starting to come back as well."
Roper, who is from Jonesboro, Ga., was driving the truck for Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart says its trucks are equipped with devices that limit speed to 65 mph.