Tracy Morgan in Critical Condition

[1001001]

Tracy Morgan from 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live fame, was critically injured this morning when his limo-bus was involved in a pile-up...

A passenger on the bus, James McNair, 63, of New York, was killed when it overturned near Cranbury Township, state police said. At least four people, including Morgan, were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., NBC News said. The 45-year-old actor and three others were listed in critical condition.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...d330ce-ee34-11e3-b84b-3393a45b80f1_story.html

Here's hoping everyone injured can recover. 30 Rock is probably my favorite sitcom of all-time, and Morgan (essentially playing himself) always had me laughing.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Can we all agree not to make any callous 'SNL curse' jokes in this thread no matter what happens?

Tracy Morgan had some great moments on 30 Rock. Like, when he's a millionaire and only agrees to stay on the show because going on television is the quickest way to get off the A list. 30 Rock had a way to take a character who was superficially stereotypical and write him smartly and thoughtfully in ways that subvert the stereotypes. Hopefully he fully recovers.

 

[Random_Spock]

Damn, heard about this earlier today . Sending thoughts and prayers his way. Hope he recovers fully.

 

[publiusr]

Very sad.

 

[ALF]

Damn it! I thought/hoped this was about Tracy starring in a remake of Richard Pryor's comedy Critical Condition. This is just bad news. He's got to survive. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be in one of the big bus monsters when it rolls. Pull through, comedy legend.

 

[1001001]

Tracy Morgan had some great moments on 30 Rock. Like, when he's a millionaire and only agrees to stay on the show because going on television is the quickest way to get off the A list. 30 Rock had a way to take a character who was superficially stereotypical and write him smartly and thoughtfully in ways that subvert the stereotypes. Hopefully he fully recovers.

The episodes where he's doing Hard to Watch were hilarious.

"It’s all coming back to me. Oh my God! I slept on an old dog bed stuffed with wigs! I watched a prostitute stab a clown! Our basketball hoop was a rib cage – a rib cage! Why did you bring me here? I blocked all this stuff out for a reason! Oh, Lord, some guy with dreads electrocuted my fish! I’ve seen a blind guy bite a police horse! A puppy committed suicide after he saw our bathroom! I once bit into a burrito and there was a child’s shoe in it! I’ve seen a hooker eat a tire! A pack of wild dogs took over and successfully ran a Wendy’s! The sewer people stole my skateboard! The projects I lived in were named after Zachary Taylor, generally considered to be one of the worst presidents of all time! I once saw a baby give another baby a tattoo! They were very drunk..."

They haven't said much about the accident itself, but I did see a video of the vehicle he was in being towed away. It did not look good.

 

[Beagleman]

The episodes where he's doing Hard to Watch were hilarious.

"It’s all coming back to me. Oh my God! I slept on an old dog bed stuffed with wigs! I watched a prostitute stab a clown! Our basketball hoop was a rib cage – a rib cage! Why did you bring me here? I blocked all this stuff out for a reason! Oh, Lord, some guy with dreads electrocuted my fish! I’ve seen a blind guy bite a police horse! A puppy committed suicide after he saw our bathroom! I once bit into a burrito and there was a child’s shoe in it! I’ve seen a hooker eat a tire! A pack of wild dogs took over and successfully ran a Wendy’s! The sewer people stole my skateboard! The projects I lived in were named after Zachary Taylor, generally considered to be one of the worst presidents of all time! I once saw a baby give another baby a tattoo! They were very drunk..."

Oh god, I totally had forgotten that. Time for a rewatch!

And yeah, I really really hope he will be ok!

 

[the G-man]

Can we all agree not to make any callous 'SNL curse' jokes in this thread no matter what happens

I didn't realize that was a thing.

Yeah, there have been some high profile deaths of (former) cast members, but given the sheer number of cast members and the longevity of the show itself is it really a surprising that a handful would have passed away?

And, in the case of Belushi and Farley, it seems to be less of a SNL curse and more of a cocaine one.

Best of luck to Morgan.

 

[1001001]

CBS reports that charges have been filed against the driver of the tractor-trailer involved in the accident.

Kevin Roper, 35, of Jonesboro, Ga., was charged with one count of death by auto and four counts of assault by auto in the early Saturday crash, Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Col. Joseph R. Fuentes, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, announced late Saturday...authorities say a preliminary investigation determined that the tractor-trailer Roper was driving crashed into the limo bus, a 2012 Mercedes Sprinter.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/charges-filed-in-tracy-morgan-new-jersey-turnpike-crash/

 

[the G-man]

Any report on why the driver was charged criminally? Typically that requires reckless, not negligent, behavior.

In any event, this update is good news:

Hours after he was helicoptered to a hospital from the scene of a deadly multi-car crash on the New Jersey Turnpike, Tracy Morgan put on a brave face.
“He’s got a brace on his neck, but he’s smiling,” said a pal, who accompanied Morgan’s ex-wife, Sabina Morgan, to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where the 45-year-old “30 Rock” star remained in critical condition Saturday night.

 

[bigdaddy]

Can we all agree not to make any callous 'SNL curse' jokes in this thread no matter what happens

I didn't realize that was a thing.

Yeah, there have been some high profile deaths of (former) cast members, but given the sheer number of cast members and the longevity of the show itself is it really a surprising that a handful would have passed away?

And, in the case of Belushi and Farley, it seems to be less of a SNL curse and more of a cocaine one.

Best of luck to Morgan.

I completely agree with all of this. SNL has been on the air for 40 years and a few of them died bad deaths. It happens.

Hopefully it will not happen again.

 

[Taylirious]

I think any type of "curse" is ridiculous. Like the Superman one. Ugh. My life is however...



I hope for the best with everyone that survived.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I agree with you, but there are some superstitious people out there who will undoubtedly start talking about Phil Hartman, Gilda Radner, Chris Farley and John Belushi again if things were to go south.

 

[1001001]

Any report on why the driver was charged criminally? Typically that requires reckless, not negligent, behavior.

A story this morning just says this:

The truck driver, 35-year-old Kevin Roper, of Jonesboro, Georgia, apparently failed to slow for traffic ahead and swerved at the last minute to avoid a crash, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office said.

http://news.yahoo.com/tracy-morgan-...lYTQwBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDM4NF8x

Another story says the driver of the truck fell asleep at the wheel...

N.J. State Police said they believed a truck driver was dozing and didn't see traffic slowing in front of his 18-wheeler until it was too late, crashing into the vehicle carrying comedian Morgan and his entourage.

http://gma.yahoo.com/tracy-morgan-s...-recalls-123435425--abc-news-celebrities.html

This story also states that Morgan was conscious after the crash and calling for help.

The three in critical condition apparently made it through the night, which is a hopeful sign.

 

[J.T.B.]

Yeah, there have been some high profile deaths of (former) cast members, but given the sheer number of cast members and the longevity of the show itself is it really a surprising that a handful would have passed away?

Yeah. Plus, OTOH, Don Pardo working well into his 90s!

I just watched Tracy Morgan on the Don Rickles tribute and he was hilarious as always. I was thinking maybe his medical problems were behind him; hope this turns out OK.

 

[the G-man]

Any report on why the driver was charged criminally? Typically that requires reckless, not negligent, behavior.

A story this morning just says this:

The truck driver, 35-year-old Kevin Roper, of Jonesboro, Georgia, apparently failed to slow for traffic ahead and swerved at the last minute to avoid a crash, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office said....

Another story says the driver of the truck fell asleep at the wheel...[/URL]

This story also states that Morgan was conscious after the crash and calling for help.

The three in critical condition apparently made it through the night, which is a hopeful sign.

The laws of every state vary, but it seems to me like the driver was overcharged.

Yes, this is tragic. Yes, he should bear civil responsibility for what happened. Yes, he may even deserve to lose his license.

But, again, this doesn't seem like the kind of reckless or intentional behavior that would, or should, result in a serious criminal charge that could put a person in prison for years.

 

[Awesome Possum]

Any report on why the driver was charged criminally? Typically that requires reckless, not negligent, behavior.

A story this morning just says this:

The truck driver, 35-year-old Kevin Roper, of Jonesboro, Georgia, apparently failed to slow for traffic ahead and swerved at the last minute to avoid a crash, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office said....

Another story says the driver of the truck fell asleep at the wheel...[/URL]

This story also states that Morgan was conscious after the crash and calling for help.

The three in critical condition apparently made it through the night, which is a hopeful sign.

The laws of every state vary, but it seems to me like the driver was overcharged.

Yes, this is tragic. Yes, he should bear civil responsibility for what happened. Yes, he may even deserve to lose his license.

But, again, this doesn't seem like the kind of reckless or intentional behavior that would, or should, result in a serious criminal charge that could put a person in prison for years.

It's not too serious because he's out on bail right now.

But yes, if you kill someone, even by accident, you should face some consequence for it.

 

[the G-man]

It's not too serious because he's out on bail right now.

Bail is less a function of the seriousness of the charge and more a function of whether the defendant is a flight risk. While the nature of the charge may impact the perception of whether a defendant is a flight risk it isn't the sole deciding factor. Prior criminal history, ties to the community, ability to assist in his or her own defense, etc., are all more relevant factors.

But yes, if you kill someone, even by accident, you should face some consequence for it.

Some consequence, yes. I already acknowledged that.

According to this, the charged driver is supposed to have acted recklessly, not merely negligently.

And, based on this, it does appear that under NJ law, reckless conduct requires a higher standard of culpable mindset than negligence.

• ....for you to find that defendant acted recklessly, you must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was aware of and disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his/her conduct would cause damage...for you to find that defendant acted negligently, you must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant should have been aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his/her conduct would cause damage

In other words, reckless conduct is closer to intentional conduct than is negligent conduct.

So, again, based on what I'm reading in the news (and while conceding that more facts may come to light), I don't see a basis for this particular charge.

 

[Mister Fandango]

People are free to make whatever charges they want. If they get ridiculous with them, such as in this case, the judge is also free to smack the lawyers upside the proverbial head for doing so.

 

[the G-man]

...unless the judge is afraid to dismiss the charge because he/she doesn't want to appear soft on crime.