TRENTON, N.J. – A lawyer for Tracy Morgan said Tuesday the actor-comedian is still recovering from a brain injury sustained in a highway crash in New Jersey more than five months ago.
Lawyer Benedict Morelli said Tuesday the former Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock star suffered a traumatic brain injury in the June 7 crash on the New Jersey Turnpike, in addition to a broken leg, nose and ribs.
Lawyers were in court in New Jersey for a scheduling conference in Morgan’s lawsuit against Walmart.
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A Walmart truck slammed into the back of a limo van that was carrying Morgan and several friends on their way from a show in Delaware. One person was killed, and three others were injured, two seriously. Morgan spent several weeks in the hospital and in rehab.
Morgan sued for punitive and compensatory damages. In a response to the lawsuit filed in late September, Walmart contended the victims’ injuries were partly due to the fact that they weren’t wearing seatbelts.
Morgan wasn’t at Tuesday’s proceeding, which was convened to settle on a schedule.
Truck driver Kevin Roper, who is not named in Morgan’s lawsuit, was charged with death by auto and four counts of assault by auto in state court. Last Friday, he filed to have Morgan’s lawsuit delayed while that case proceeds. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for mid-December.
A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board released in June said Roper was driving 65 mph in the 60 seconds before he slammed into the van. The speed limit on that stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike is 55 mph and was lowered to 45 mph that night because of construction.
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