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Man driving truck in Tracy Morgan crash faces criminal charges

On Behalf of | Dec 29, 2015 | Truck Accidents |

West Virginia residents may recall the June 2014 incident that seriously injured comedian Tracy Morgan and took the life of a man in the same limo bus that he was in. It has been reported that the man who had been driving the Wal-Mart truck that hit the vehicle occupied by Morgan has been charged with various crimes relating to the accident.

The driver of the commercial truck faces charges of aggravated manslaughter in the first degree, vehicular homicide in the second degree and aggravated assault in the third degree. According to an earlier investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, he had been awake for approximately 28 hours and failed to slow down right before his truck collided with the limo bus. The NTSB also said that the accident could have been avoided had the driver not been going over the posted 45 mph speed limit. The driver’s attorney attempted to argue that the publicity surrounding the accident made it impossible for the accused man to get a fair trial, but a judge refused to throw the charges out.

Mr. Morgan had previously filed a civil lawsuit against Walmart, the owner of the commercial truck that the man had been driving. The suit was subsequently settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money.

People who are injured in a collision involving a commercial truck often sustain catastrophic injuries in part due to the sheer size and weight of those vehicles. If it can be determined that the accident was caused by truck driver negligence, an injured victim may want to ask a personal injury attorney to assist in filing a lawsuit that would seek compensation from both the driver and the trucking company for the losses that have been incurred.

Source: USA Today, “Truck driver in Tracy Morgan crash charged with manslaughter”, Maeve McDermott, Dec. 23, 2015