Actor Tracy Morgan In Critical Condition After Major Car Crash
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan’s in intensive care after the limousine bus he was riding in was involved in a multi-vehicle accident on the New Jersey Turnpike, state police said.
The vehicle carrying the former “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” cast member and six others was involved in a six-vehicle accident on the turnpike near Cranbury Township at about 1 a.m. Saturday, Sgt. First Class Greg Williams told The Associated Press.
Williams said one person died in the crash that occurred in the northbound lanes of the turnpike near mile marker 71.5.
A spokesman at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey, says a patient named Tracy Morgan is in critical condition there.
There was no immediate word on other injuries from the accident.
Williams says two tractor-trailers, a sports utility vehicle and two cars, along with Morgan’s limo bus, were involved in the accident. There is no immediate word on the cause of the pileup.
The 45-year-old Bronx native joined “Saturday Night Live” in 1996 and was on the sketch-comedy program for seven years before leaving to star in “The Tracy Morgan Show” in 2003. That show lasted just one season. In 2006, Morgan found a long-running role in NBC’s hit show “30 Rock,” which was created by SNL co-star Tina Fey.
The New Jersey Turnpike was closed for more than five hours after the crash and was reopened at about 6:30 a.m.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — While Tracy Morgan remains in critical condition, his publicist has issued a statement saying the actor/comedian is responsive and expected to remain in the hospital for several weeks. Lewis Kay, Morgan’s rep, released this statement Sunday:
While Tracy remains in critical condition, he has been more responsive today, which is an incredibly encouraging sign.
“He sustained a number of injuries including a broken leg, a broken femur, a broken nose and several broken ribs. He had surgery earlier today on his leg. We expect him to remain in the hospital for several weeks. His family is tremendously overwhelmed and appreciative of the outpouring of love and support from his fans.”
Morgan and two members of his entourage were in critical condition Sunday, a day after a tractor-trailer rammed into his chauffeured limousine bus on the New Jersey Turnpike, setting off a deadly chain-reaction pileup.
The former “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” cast member was returning from a standup show in Delaware early Saturday with six others when the limo bus overturned, killing Morgan’s mentor and fellow comedian James “Jimmy Mack” McNair. The tractor-trailer driver, Kevin Roper, was charged with death by auto and four counts of assault by auto.
Jeffrey Millea, of Shelton, Connecticut, and comedian Ardie Fuqua Jr. were listed in critical condition along with Morgan at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Zenaida Mendez said Sunday. Another comedian, Harris Stanton, was treated and released from the hospital Saturday.
Roper, 35, of Jonesboro, Georgia, apparently failed to slow for traffic ahead and swerved at the last minute to avoid a crash, authorities said.
Instead, the big rig smashed into the back of the Mercedes limo bus, prompting a chain-reaction crash with a second tractor-trailer, an SUV and two cars, authorities said.
Roper’s bail was set at $50,000. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Wal-Mart President Bill Simon said in a statement that one of the company’s trucks was involved and that the company “will take full responsibility” if authorities determine its truck caused the accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was working with state police to look at any issues in the crash related to commercial trucking and limousine safety.
Morgan’s limo was owned by Atlantic Transportation Services, which said it had one employee behind the wheel and a second in the front passenger seat. Neither was injured.
“Although the investigation is still pending, we concur with the preliminary reports that the accident was caused by another vehicle traveling behind the Atlantic limo bus,” the Rehoboth Beach, Delaware-based company said.
Fuqua had tweeted that he was opening for Morgan on Friday night at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Delaware. On his Instagram page, Fuqua included a collage of photos from the show.
“This is what it looks like from the stage to see a standing ovation from 1500 people,” Fuqua wrote at around midnight Friday. “Then we traveled back to NYC in style in a luxury Mercedes Sprinter. Road life is a good life!”
McNair, 62, of Peekskill, New York, was a close friend and mentor to Morgan, Morgan’s ex-wife, Sabina Morgan, told the New York Daily News. “He was one of the first comedians that took Tracy under his wing,” she said. “They were very close.”
Royale Watkins, a Los Angeles-based comedian who said he had performed in New York clubs with Morgan and McNair, described McNair as having a big personality.
“There may be guys like Tracy who get the fame and notoriety, but you have people like Jimmy Mack who have kind of energized and fueled cats like Tracy and kept them going on the road,” Watkins said.
Morgan, a New York City native, joined “SNL” in 1996 and left to star in “The Tracy Morgan Show” in 2003. That show lasted just one season. In 2006, Morgan found a long-running role on NBC’s hit show “30 Rock,” which was created by “SNL” co-star Tina Fey. He received an Emmy nomination for best supporting actor for “30 Rock” in 2009.
Obama Aims To Expand Student Loan Relief
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is signing an executive order that lets borrowers pay no more than 10 percent of their monthly income in student loan payments.
The measure expands on a 2010 law that covered those who started borrowing after October 2007 and kept borrowing after October 2011. The executive order allows those who borrowed earlier to participate, potentially extending the benefit to millions more borrowers.
Obama will sign the order Monday during an event in the White House Rose Garden. The president will also use the appearance to call for Congress to pass more sweeping legislation that would let college graduates with heavy debts refinance their loans.
The Senate is expected to debate the legislation next week, but it faces significant obstacles.
Michelle Obama’s Moving Tribute to Maya Angelou
First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at Dr. Maya Angelou‘s funeral on Saturday and her speech paid beautiful tribute to Angelou’s life and spirit and how she inspired an entire generation.
Through Angelou’s works I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings andGather Together In My Name and her poems “Still I Rise” and “Phenomenal Women” and many, many more inspired all women, they have been particularly embraced by Black women, something Obama acknowledged in her moving speech.
Evelyn Lozada Reveals First Photos Of 2-Month-Old Son
Outspoken reality television star Evelyn Lozada has finally shared photos of her two-month old baby boy with the world.
Evelyn made headlines last year when she revealed on Instagram that she was engaged to LA Dodgers star Carl Crawford, less than a year after she filed for divorce from former NFL star, Ochocinco.
The mom of two uploaded a picture of her and Baby Leo to her social media.
