The Wal-Mart driver responsible for Saturday’s early morning fatal crash on the New Jersey turnpike is handing himself into authorities. The driver’s bail has been set at $50,000, and he is being charged with Death by Auto and Assault by Auto citing that he fell asleep at the wheel. The driver, 35 year old Kevin Roper, had been driving one of Wal-Mart’s 18-wheelers doing deliveries at the time of the accident. The fatal accident took the life of one of Tracy Morgan’s long time friends as well as putting Morgan and two others in critical condition. All of the survivors of the initial impact are expected to survive their injuries.
Wal-Mart has announced that the driver and the semi truck responsible for the accident were owned and operated by Wal-Mart at the time of the accident, and they are taking full responsibility for what has taken place. Wal-Mart’s CEO, Bill Simon, announced the company’s condolences and apologies, and hopes that by owning up to the incident they can help repair damages caused by the wreck. Wal-Mart has many trucks on the road making deliveries each and every day, and their focus on safety has generally kept them out of major accidents such as Saturday morning’s fatal wreck.
Kevin Roper had stated to authorities after the accident that he failed to notice that the traffic in front of him had slowed down to a near stop on the NJ turnpike. Some parts of his statement had indicated that he may have momentarily fallen asleep at the wheel right before the crash occurred. It does appear that he came to his senses just before impact, as he states that he swerved out of the way of cars directly in front of him, unfortunately plowing into Tracy Morgan’s Limo Bus instead. There is no telling how much more fatal the accident may have been for other drivers had the truck not hit such a large vehicle as the Limo Bus. After initially being released from the accident scene, Roper received formal criminal charges stemming from his actions prior to impact.
Wal-Mart Driver Bail Set At $50,000 In Deadly Tracy Morgan Accident.
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