NTSB: Wal-Mart truck driver in Tracy Morgan crash hadn't slept for 28 hours

WASHINGTON (WABC) -- The driver of a Wal-Mart tractor-trailer that slammed into a limo carrying comedian Tracy Morgan last June had been awake more than 28 hours, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

But the board also said the failure of Morgan and other passengers in a limousine-van to wear seat belts and adjust headrests contributed to the severity of injuries when the limo was struck from behind by the truck.

The crash happened around 1 a.m. on June 7, 2014, when the 35-year-old driver slammed into Morgan's limo from behind, killing comedian James McNair and seriously injuring Morgan and three others.

The passengers in the back of the limo's rear compartment were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, NTSB chairman Christopher Hart said at a board meeting, nor had they received a safety briefing outlining the benefits of seat belts.

After colliding with the Wal-Mart truck, the limo then struck three other vehicles and rolled over before coming to rest on its side on the New Jersey Turnpike.

Because the limo had been customized, "the passengers had no available exits until emergency responders removed parts of a plywood panel that had been installed," Hart said.

Investigators said emergency responders, mostly volunteers, didn't have the training to address some of the logistical and coordination issues arising from the complicated accident. New Jersey doesn't have requirements for the number of training hours that volunteer emergency responders must have, or a certification program, they said.

The driver of the Walmart vehicle, Kevin Roper, 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. Roper pleaded not guilty.

In a preliminary report released just weeks after the accident, the NTSB said the trailer was traveling at 65 miles per hour, which is 20 mph over the construction zone's 45 mph speed limit.

Roper had driven over 800 miles overnight from Georgia to a Wal-Mart distribution center in Delaware to pick up a load before starting the trip without stopping for sleep.

He had worked for Wal-Mart for 15 weeks and had had nine "critical event reports." Critical event reports, which are generated by a truck's computers and downloaded by Wal-Mart, record things such as hard braking, activation of the vehicle's stability control system or other events that might indicate unsafe driving.

Roper also had been involved in a preventable accident, causing him to lose his safety bonus, investigators said.

Wal-Mart had provided guidance to its drivers on preventing fatigue, but didn't have a comprehensive program to prevent drivers from being assigned over-tiring schedules or to make sure they were rested before reporting to work, the board said. Since then, Wal-Mart has taken greater steps to educate drivers about fatigue and has said it will put in place a program to reduce fatigue, investigators said.

The crash left Morgan, then 45, in critical condition with multiple broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. Since then, the comedian has struggled to regain his old self, his lawyer said. In a June 2015 interview with "Today" anchor Matt Lauer, Morgan wondered through tears whether he was ever going to be funny again.

He filed a civil suit against Wal-Mart, and the two sides reached a confidential settlement in May.

According to Morgan's lawyer, the retailer, which initially faulted Morgan and his colleagues for not wearing seat belts, later took full responsibility for the accident.

Morgan, a former "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock" star, and the others were returning from a show in Dover, Delaware.

The board has long raised concerns about operator fatigue leading to accidents across all modes of transportation, from airline pilots to train engineers.

Roper was charged with death by auto and four counts of assault by auto in state court in New Jersey.