The Walmart truck driver involved in a traffic collision that injured comedian Tracy Morgan accepted a plea deal that will see him avoiding jail time.
Kevin Roper, 37, of Jonesboro, Ga., pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated assault and vehicular homicide in the June 7, 2014 accident that killed comedian James “Jimmy Mack” McNair and injured Morgan.
After the initial impact with the truck, the limo carrying Morgan and his entourage then crashed into three other passenger cars and rolled over on its side before stopping on the New Jersey turnpike.
Morgan, then 45, suffered several broken bones.
Roper had initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, but agreed to change his plea in exchange for a deal that will see him participate in a three-year pretrial intervention program and 300 hours of community service. Upon completion of the three-year program, the charges will be dismissed and he will not have a criminal record.
The Walmart truck driver admitted he had been awake for more than 28 hours before the colliding with the limo in Cranbury, N.J. Before going on his Walmart shift, Roper had driven 12 hours in his own car from his Georgia home to the company base in Delaware.
“It gives him an opportunity to go forward with his life without a conviction if he does what he’s supposed to do,” Roper’s attorney, David Glassman, said at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick.
“It puts his future in his own hands. He’s led an exemplary life up until that one mistake. And, assuming it’s going to go forward like that, he has his destiny in his own hands, and he won’t have a record.”
In January 2015, Walmart settled a $10 million lawsuit with McNair’s two children. The retailer also settled with Morgan for an undisclosed sum, rumored to be $90 million dollars.
Earlier this month during an appearance on the Conan O’ Brien show, Tracy Morgan said he forgave the driver for the accident. “I forgave him, and I’m not even mad at him no more,” Morgan said.