Accidents that occur on east coast highways can cause serious injuries and even fatalities. Actor-comedian Tracy Morgan was involved in a serious accident on the New Jersey Turnpike earlier this month. The 45-year-old New York City native was riding in a limo with a few other comedians when a Walmart truck rear-ended their vehicle. This resulted in a multi-vehicle pileup involving a total of six vehicles.
Authorities reported that the crash occurred when the truck driver failed to slow for traffic and tried to swerve to avoid an accident. Unfortunately, this resulted in him hitting Morgan’s limo. The crash killed one man and critically injured Morgan and two other passengers. One other passenger was treated and released.
The truck driver was charged with death by auto and four counts of assault by auto. Walmart has placed him on administrative leave and has said that the company will take full responsibility if authorities determine that the truck did in fact cause the accident. The truck driver was released on $50,000 bail.
Commercial trucks can be dangerous due to their large size, so it is important to for truck drivers to obey traffic laws and trucking regulations. The National Transportation Safety Board is taking this opportunity to look further into commercial trucking and limousine safety issues. Meanwhile, friends and family of those involved mourn the loss of the passenger that passed away and hope that the others make a full recovery. Tragedies like this will help bring awareness to truck safety to prevent these types of accidents from happening in the future.
Source: USA TODAY, “Feds probe truck safety after Tracy Morgan crash,” Bruce Shipkowski, June 8, 2014
