Accident involving Wal-Mart truck and Tracy Morgan attributed to driver fatigue, speeding

The high profile accident involving actor Tracy Morgan last year was deemed to have been avoidable, according to a 64-page investigative report released Monday (Aug. 11) by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Wal-Mart truckdriver, Kevin Roper, had been awake for 28 hours and worked for nearly 14 hours when the accident occurred on Interstate 95 in Cranbury, N.J. He had commuted about 800 miles from his home in Jonesboro, Ga., to Smyrna, Del., before beginning his shift, according to NTSB.

Driver fatigue, excessive speeds and truck safety were the main focus by federal authorities investigating the fatality accident that seriously injured four passenger, including Morgan and claimed the life of Morgan’s fellow comedian James McNair.

Wal-Mart Stores has already settled with Morgan and McNair and has put Roper on administrative leave since the accident pending the outcome of the investigation. Wal-Mart did not return The City Wire’s request for an update on Roper’s employment status.

The federal report also indicates that Wal-Mart, while not responsible for monitoring its truck drivers on their days off, could have done a better job educating its drivers about the importance of sleep.

"Although Wal-Mart addressed fatigue as part of its driver training program, it did not have a structured fatigue management program in place that could have improved its ability to better monitor and educate its drivers about the risks of fatigue," the report states.

Other negligence noted in the report involved the need for better marking at the highway work zones as well as no use of seat belts by the passengers in the van.

“Fatigue cannot be addressed solely by regulations,” according to NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart.

NTSB investigator David Rayburn said the Walmart truck would have stopped in time to prevent the accident if it hadn’t been speeding in the work zone, The investigators estimated that Roper was traveling at 65 miles per hour in an work zone where the maximum speed was 45 miles per hour.

Roper was nearing the end of a 14-hour shift, the maximum allowed, when he struck the van, according to NTSB. He has plead not guilty to death by auto and other charges.