According to reports, a federal judge has ruled that the lawsuit brought by comedian Tracy Morgan as a result of the deadly crash caused by a Walmart truck on the New Jersey Turnpike can no longer be delayed.
Though Kevin Roper, driver of the Walmart truck that officials say smashed into the back of a limo van carrying Morgan and others, isn’t named in Morgan’s civil suit, he was hoping to have the case delayed until a verdict was reached in his criminal trial.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp stated that Roper failed to prove that he needs “emergent relief.”
Roper is facing charges of assault and death by auto after the June 7, 2014, crash that killed comedian James McNair and severely injured Morgan and others as they were leaving a performance at a Delaware casino.
Attorneys for Morgan accused Walmart of a number of infractions, including failing to prevent driver fatigue, not maintaining collision-avoidance systems in their trucks, and trying to employ stall tactics to avoid answering claims that their negligence was in part responsible for the accident.
Morgan’s counsel has been accused by Roper’s attorneys of making statements that have resulted in Roper not being able to get a fair trial.
