NTSB to meet to determine cause of Tracy Morgan crash

The NTSB released the probable cause and made nine new safety recommendations after a Tuesday morning board meeting in Washington, finishing months of investigation.

Responders had to cut into the vehicle to extricate the passengers, none of whom were wearing seat belts or using adjustable headrests, contributing to their injuries.

At 45 miles per hour, the truck could have stopped before impact, the board concluded. The Walmart driver who triggered the multi-vehicle pileup near Cranbury, New Jersey, was awake for more than 28 hours prior to the crash. If he hadn’t been speeding, he would have had time to brake and prevent the fatal crash.

The crash occurred when Wal-Mart truck driver Kevin Roper, 35, of Jonesboro, Ga., failed to slow down in slowing traffic while driving in an active work zone.

The reports were produced by the truck’s computers and kept track of hard braking, activation of the vehicle’s stability control system and other instances that point to unsafe driving. The accident caused a chain reaction that involved six cars.

The board said Roper declined to speak to its investigators. He also said it is incorrect that Roper had gone without sleep for over 28 hours.

“Strong hours-of-service rules are important, but they can not govern what employees do on their own time”, Hart said. “The driver, already going too fast, was slow to react”, said Hart.

Though Walmart provided fatigue information during its driver training, it was not required to have a fatigue management program, the NTSB said.

The wellbeing board has since quite a while ago raised worries about administrator weakness prompting mishaps over all methods of transportation, from aircraft pilots to prepare engineers. A sheet of plywood that had been added to the limo to separate the cab from passengers blocked occupants from escaping the vehicle through the front doors after the crash.

The NTSB also found issues with poor emergency response, which prompted a delay in taking victims to a local hospital.

Investigators were also critical of the performance of emergency responders.

Around 1 a.m. on June 7, 2014, Roper – then halfway through the 13th hour of his 14-hour shift – slammed into Morgan’s limo from behind, killing comedian James McNair and seriously injuring Morgan and three others. He and others were returning from a show in Dover, Del.

Roper, the WalMart driver, was later charged with one count of vehicular homicide and several counts of assault by auto, with authorities saying they believed he had dozed off behind the wheel.