Tracy Morgan has forgiven Wal-Mart driver who nearly killed him

— -- "Saturday Night Live" alum Tracy Morgan has forgiven the Wal-Mart truck driver who caused the crash that nearly killed him.

Speaking to New York magazine's Vulture before his new Netflix special, "Staying Alive," Morgan said he forgave the driver in order to move on with his life.

"The hardest part about all of this was forgiving that driver ... because if I didn’t do that, we wouldn’t be sitting here talking," he said. "I couldn’t move forward if I ain’t forgive him."

Morgan turned to his faith to reach that place.

"I asked God for the strength. That’s the only way that strength come from," he said. "You ever had people do wrong to you? You ever forgave them? Where you think that kind of strength come from? The government? No."

The driver, Kevin Roper, had been awake for more than 28 hours and was traveling 20 miles per hour above the speed limit when he hit the limo van Morgan was riding in on the New Jersey Turnpike in 2014. Morgan, who was headed back home after a show in Delaware, was left with multiple broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. His best friend and fellow comedian, James McNair, was killed.

Morgan still struggles with guilt over his friend's death.

"I love Jimmy. He was my OG," Morgan said. "Jimmy was very funny and he would facilitate things with me ... I was, 'Hey Jimmy, I want you to go out with me out to Delaware to do the show.' He said, 'I’m in.' Boom. I gotta live with that every day because I asked him to be there."

Morgan said he tries not to relive the experience and wants to move forward.

"My daughter’s a baby, my wife is young, and I’ve got to live, and I got to grow, and if I stay back there, then I won’t grow," he said, according to New York magazine.

Instead, he's found a new purpose in his life.

"You can’t go through something like that and not change a bit. You can’t. There’s no way," he said. "So I just know now my purpose in life is to connect the dots and spread love. There’s so much hate in this world, man. It’s time to spread love."

Last November, Roper, who had no prior record, accepted a plea deal, which allowed him to enter a diversion program and avoid going to trial if he completes 300 hours of community service.

McNair's family and Morgan sued Wal-Mart, and both lawsuits were settled. The terms of the settlements were not publicly disclosed.