Tracy Morgan and Wal-Mart have reached a settlement for the lawsuit the comedian filed over the crash that killed a fellow comedian and put Morgan in a coma for days.
Amounts for the settlements were not disclosed, but Morgan was quoted as saying that “Wal-Mart did right by me and my family, and for my associates and their families.”
The lawsuit was the filed after a Wal-Mart trucker who had allegedly gone at least 24 hours without sleeping slammed in to the back of the van that Morgan and the others were riding in. Though the trucker, Kevin Roper, was within his allowable hours of service, he had not slept at all because he had driven 700 miles in his personal vehicle in order to start his shift.
Before reaching the settlement with Morgan, Wal-Mart had also settled with the children of the deceased comedian, James McNair.
Roper has pled not guilty to charges of vehicular homicide and assault by auto.
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ScottSr says
The driver was a dummy, every good driver knows that if you cant safely drive you DONT! With that being said I really have come to dislike Tracy Morgan for his comments and I am quite curious to know the amount walmart paid him to shut up and go away?
volvo nation says
Driver should’ve been smarter…..but don’t dislike Tracy as you would have done the same thing if it were your family and friends
ScottSr says
No Tracy Morgan has been using this as a catch all for the industry and any intelligent person knows you cant generalize anything based on the actions of one person. Yes Walmart made the mistake of hiring this guy and this guy is highly responsible for not pulling over when tired. If I with only 3 years of experience can do it why cant this guy? Never the less would I have sued yes but blaming the entire industry for one persons stupidity is not right.
Bob says
The driver is a idiot. First for driving 700 miles to work in his personal vehicle and then going right to work, second for telling the cops what he did. Walmart did no wrong in this other than hiring this fool. If you want drivers to start accounting for every hour of the life, both working and personal, and you want carriers to monitor it all, someone better be willing to pay a lot more to move freight. As it is, Drivers have more regulations on them than commercial airplane pilots. Want to compare pay checks?
Robert says
Walmart Did know actually, they know where all their drivers live, just like all companies. Its also their responsibility in part for allowing, or even requiring this driver to start work after such a lengthy commute, its just common sense.
Robert says
What was he supposed to tell them? That he is just a horribly bad driver? Not tired at all, no it was a fly in the cab, or he choked on his cigarette, if he was smoking, (not saying thats the case here). He was stupid yes, but not for telling the truth, but for driving for 24 hours..
Tim says
This outcome was inevitable for this unique case involving an A-list celebrity, beloved by millions, who was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time and in the path of someone who willingly did the wrong thing at the wrong time.
Infosaur says
I do feel bad for the driver, you know he’s “dead man walking” at this point. But he might get off on a technicality now, with all this publicity how can he expect to get a fair trial?
He might even throw Walmart under the bus for being complicit “they forced me to work tired and admitted their wrongdoing by settling out of court”. Best of luck Roper, I hope you get a decent prison.
Derrick Belton says
when I take off for two days or go on vacation do I keep track of the miles I in curr while driving my car.
Robert says
If you going to keep an eye on the tab you might, gas isn’t cheap either, even if your getting 40 mpg, it still adds up.