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Man charged in fatal wreck that injured U.S. actor Tracy Morgan

USPA News - A Georgia truck driver was charged Saturday with causing a multi-vehicle accident in New Jersey that killed one person and injured four others, including comedian-actor Tracy Morgan who remains in a critical condition, the prosecutor`s office said. The accident happened at approximately 1 a.m. local time on Saturday when a tractor-trailer, driven by Kevin Roper, 35, of Jonesboro, Georgia, crashed into a 2012 Mercedes Sprinter limo bus on the New Jersey Turnpike in Cranbury Township. The limo bus was carrying Morgan, who was returning from a comedy tour in Delaware, and several others.
Middlesex County Prosecutor`s Office spokesman James O`Neill said a passenger in the limo bus, 62-year-old comedian James "Jimmy Mack" McNair of Peekskill, New York, was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:53 a.m. Morgan and another passenger, a 36-year-old man of Shelton, Connecticut, were airlifted to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick while the two remaining passengers were taken by ambulance. Publicist Lewis Kay said Morgan, 45, remained in a critical condition on Saturday afternoon but provided no details about the nature of his injuries. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital spokesman Peter Haigney said two of the other patients also remained in a critical condition while the fourth was treated and released within hours. "Tracy remains in critical condition at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital. He sustained these injuries in an accident that occurred early this morning as one of several passengers in a chauffeured SUV returning from a tour date in Delaware," Kay said in an email. "His family is now with him and he is receiving excellent care. We don`t anticipate much of a change in his condition today but will provide a further update once more information becomes available." In addition to the tractor-trailer and the limo bus, four other vehicles were also subsequently involved in the crash, but none of the occupants of those vehicles were injured. The Middlesex County Prosecutor`s Office said Roper had been charged with one count of death by auto and four counts of assault by auto in connection with Saturday`s accident, but few other details were immediately made available. "The cause of the crash remains under investigation," O`Neill said. Morgan is best known for his eight seasons as a cast member on `Saturday Night Live` and for his role as Tracy Jordan on the TV series `30 Rock.`
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