The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that driver fatigue probably caused the June 2014 crash that left comedian-actor Tracy Morgan seriously injured and another man dead.
During a meeting Tuesday, the NTSB was told by investigators that Kevin Roper, the Walmart driver whose truck collided with the limo bus that Morgan and others had been traveling in, had been awake for 28 hours prior to the accident, the Associated Press reports.
Investigators also said that Roper was traveling at 65 miles per hour prior to the accident, and could have prevented the crash if he had been driving 45 MPH, the speed limit where the crash occurred. Roper’s truck was traveling between 47 and 53 MPH when it collided with the limo, investigators said.
However, it was also determined that none of the passengers in the rear compartment of the limo bus was wearing a seat belt, which contributed to the severity of the injuries.
“One tragic aspect of roadway deaths is that so often they could have been prevented,” NTSB chairman Christopher Hart noted.
Morgan settled a lawsuit against Walmart in May. The conditions of the settlement were confidential.
“Walmart did right by me and my family, and for my associates and their families,” Morgan said about the settlement agreement. “I am grateful that the case was resolved amicably.”
Morgan’s lawsuit alleged that Walmart “knew or should have known” that driver Kevin Roper had been awake “for more than 24 consecutive hours” ahead of the accident, violating Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations.
Watch a video reenactment of the crash released by the NTSB below.