Trucker Awake For 28 Hours Before Tracy Morgan Crash, Reports Say

Changes to the inside of their limousine van trapped them inside for some 40 minutes after the vehicle overturned within the June 7, 2014 collision on the New Jersey turnpike, the evaluate board stated.

Chris Hart, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, speaking at a meeting to determine the cause of the accident, that the board will “ask what safeguards operators can adopt to address driver fatigue”, as well as highway work zone hazards.

Roper had driven over 800 miles overnight from Georgia to a Walmart distribution center in Delaware to pick up a load before starting the trip without stopping for sleep. “This driver had been on duty 13 ½ hours of a 14-hour workday, but had been awake more than 28 hours at the time of the crash”.

Reuters reports that the NTSB has advised Walmart to revamp its fatigue management programs for its truck drivers.

The board – who presented their findings at a public hearing in Washington yesterday (11.08.15) concluded that if Roper had slowed to 45mph he would have been able to stop before impact and avoided the crash, which left James “Jimmy Mack” McNair dead and four others severely injured.

“Seat belts save lives, no matter what type of vehicle we are in and no matter who is driving”, Hart said.

But the board added that the actor and his travelling companions contributed to the seriousness of their injuries as none of them were wearing seat belts at the time of the collision.

Investigators were also critical of the performance of emergency responders.

“Responders did not obtain appropriate medical resources in a timely fashion, and the standard of care provided by some responders was inadequate”, the synopsis read.

The panel recommended that minimum training standards be implemented.

“Pretrip safety briefings are beneficial to all passenger operations, but they are particularly needed in limousine service because the seating configuration in such vehicles is intended to create a relaxed social setting”, the synopsis read. The criminal complaint alleged Roper operated the truck “without having slept for a period in excess of 24 hours resulting in a motor vehicle accident”. “DOT must speed up implementation of black boxes, like in cockpits, to record hours & alert drivers”.