Tracy Morgan, Wal-Mart reach settlement in deadly New Jersey Turnpike crash

Tracy Morgan and Wal-Mart have reached a settlement after a highway crash left the comedian seriously injured and another man dead in New Jersey last year, Morgan’s attorneys said Wednesday.

The terms of the settlement were not made public.

Wal-Mart took “full responsibility” for the June 2014 wreck that claimed the life of 63-year-old comedian James McNair and seriously injured Morgan on June 7, the comedian’s attorneys said in a statement released by his attorneys.

Kevin Roper, a 35-year-old Georgia man who was driving a Wal-Mart tractor-trailer, was speeding and had been awake for more than 24 hours when the trailer collided with Morgan’s limousine, accident investigators have said. Roper has pleaded not guilty to one count of death by auto and four other counts of assault by auto in the crash.

Morgan suffered multiple fractures in the crash on the New Jersey Turnpike, and required multiple surgeries and rehabilitation. McNair, a 63-year-old comedian better known by his stage name Jimmy Mack, died in the crash. Morgan sued the company in July.

“Wal-Mart did right by me and my family, and for my associates and their families. I am grateful that the case was resolved amicably,” Morgan said in the statement.

Comedian Ardie Fuqua, Morgan’s assistant Jeffrey Millea, and Millea’s wife Krista were also injured in the wreck. Morgan was returning from a performance in Delaware at the time of the crash.

“While we know there is nothing that can change what happened, Wal-Mart has been committed to doing what’s right to help ensure the well-being of all of those who were impacted by the accident,” the company’s U.S. president, Greg Foran, said in the statement.

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