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Trucker in Tracy Morgan Crash Was Awake Over 24 Hours: Cops

A criminal complaint charges Walmart driver Kevin Roper with vehicular homicide and reckless driving.
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Actor Tracy Morgan remained in critical but stable condition more than 48 hours after he was injured in a highway pileup that killed his mentor, his publicist Lewis Kay said in a statement Monday.

Kay said Morgan remained in the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital following surgery on his broken leg, with his fiancée, Megan Wollover, by his side.

"The concern for his well-being has been overwhelming, but Megan is respectfully asking that the media await official word through these channels before speculating (mostly inaccurately) on his condition," the statement read. "Rumors about amputating his leg are completely fabricated. As we shared yesterday, Tracy had surgery on his broken leg."

Morgan was diagnosed with diabetes nearly 20 years ago.

Earlier on Monday, officials said that the Walmart truck driver involved in the crash had not slept for more than 24 hours before the accident.

Find more coverage at NBCPhiladelphia.com

Kevin Roper, 35, is facing charges of vehicular homicide, assault and reckless driving. He is free on $50,000 bail.

Audio released of 911 calls made that night depicts the chaotic scene at the crash site.

"There is a terrible accident. The car flipped. It's on its side," a caller said.

"It's two vehicles and a Walmart truck," she continued.

A criminal complaint said truck driver Roper, who lives in Georgia, was behind the wheel "without having slept for a period in excess of 24 hours."

Federal regulations limit truckers to 11 hours of driving during a 14-hour work day, with no more than 70 hours a week on the road without extra breaks. Drivers who are too sleepy to drive safely must pull over, the regulations say.

The number of fatal crashes involving large trucks rose between 2009 and 2012 after a four-year decline. Fatigue is a major factor; 13 percent of crashes involve a driver who is not properly rested, the U.S. Department of Transportation reports.

A Walmart spokesman said the company believes Roper "was operating within the federal hours of service regulations."

"The details are the subject of the ongoing investigation and we are cooperating fully with the appropriate law enforcement agencies. The investigation is ongoing and unfortunately we can't comment further on the specifics," the retail giant said in a statement.

Roper's big rig slammed into a Mercedes Sprinter limo bus that was carrying Morgan, stand-up comedians Ardie Fuqua Jr., Harris Stanton and James McNair, and three others, according to officials.

The limo overturned on its left side and crashed into several other vehicles.

Fuqua remained in critical condition Monday. McNair, 62, a close friend and mentor to the "30 Rock" star, was killed.

Limo driver Tyrone Gale said it was a "great day turned tragic in seconds."

"I was face down on the asphalt. It was unreal. I didn't know what happened. Shattered glass and things like that. It all happened so fast," he told NBC Philadelphia after being released from the hospital on Saturday.

On his Facebook page, Gale wrote: "I can only say feeling helpless on the highway was very hard to take. There was nothing I could do but scream at times.

"I am truly sad for the loss of James McNair. This is not something I will be able to forget in my lifetime. I won't pretend like I knew them deeply, but I will say I truly know when I'm around good people and these men are. RIP James McNair."

— Tracy Connor