Wal-Mart Truck Driver Who Crashed Into Tracy Morgan’s Vehicle Indicted
Roper was driving a truck that slammed into Tracy Morgan's bus.
— -- Kevin Roper has been indicted in the death of comedian James McNair.
On Wednesday a grand jury indicted the Wal-Mart truck driver on charges of aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide and eight counts of aggravated assault stemming from the 2014 car crash that killed McNair and injured Tracy Morgan and three others.
In June 2014, Roper was driving a Wal-Mart truck on the New Jersey Turnpike when he collided with a vehicle carrying Morgan and his friends. He pleaded not guilty to charges filed against him at that time.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Roper had been awake for more than 24 hours before the accident and was driving 20 miles per hour over the speed limit.
“Had the truck driver been traveling at the posted work zone speed limit of 45 mph, it could have been stopped before impact,” NTSB investigator David Rayburn said in August.
In the aftermath of the crash, both McNair's family and Morgan filed lawsuits against Wal-Mart, which were settled earlier this year.
Roper's attorney unsuccessfully argued in September that criminal charges should be dropped against Roper after the release of the NTSB's findings.
"No system of justice can rightfully call itself just - if it operates in an atmosphere where the state is unwilling to protect the accused who appears before them, prior to a jury trial," Roper's attorney wrote in paperwork. "No accused can receive a fair trial, or any other due process requirements, if the criminal justice system under which an accused is tried leaves him at the mercy of the press."
An arraignment has not yet been scheduled. At that time, Roper will enter pleas for the new charges.