30 Rock star ‘cried for help’

A US truck driver has been charged in connection to a car crash that left Tracy Morgan critically injured

Serious condition... Morgan hosting last year's Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. Picture: Ethan Miller Source: Getty Images

TRACY Morgan reportedly screamed for help following a crash that killed a close friend and left the actor and comedian hospitalised in a critical condition. Two others were seriously injured in the smash.

"I climbed around and heard Tracy screaming for help," Tyrone Gale, the driver of the limo bus Morgan was in at the time of the six-vehicle crash on the New Jersey Turnpike, told ABC News. "I climbed up on the body of the limo bus… but I couldn't reach them."

The accident happened after a tractor-trailer rammed into Morgan's chauffeured limousine bus, which was carrying seven people.

Kevin Roper, the driver of the tractor-trailer, has been charged death by auto in the Saturday crash that killed comedian James McNair, described as a mentor to the former Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock cast member.

Roper, 35, of Jonesboro, Georgia, also faces four counts of assault by auto. He was released on $50,000 bail after turning himself into Middlesex County Police.

Morgan, 45, was in critical condition and his family arrived to be with him. Morgan was "receiving excellent care," his spokesman Lewis Kay said.

Morgan and the group were travelling home from a stand-up comedy show in Delaware, officials said. About 1am, near Cranbury Township, the tractor-trailer driver apparently failed to slow for traffic ahead and swerved at the last minute to avoid a crash, state police Sgt. 1st Class Greg Williams said.

Aftermath... The limousine bus carrying Tracy Morgan and six other people lies on its side. Source: AP

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.

McNair, 62, of Peekskill, New York, who performed as Jimmy Mack, died when the limo overturned on the turnpike, Williams said. Morgan and Jeffrey Millea, 36, of Shelton, Connecticut, were flown from the accident scene to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, where they were in critical condition, hospital spokesman Peter Haigney said.

A fourth passenger, comedian Ardie Fuqua Jr., was also in critical condition, while a fifth passenger, comic Harris Stanton, was treated and released, Haigney said. Two others in the limo were unhurt, including the driver.

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.

Walmart President Bill Simon said in a statement a Walmart truck was involved and that the company "will take full responsibility" if authorities determine its truck caused the accident.

"We're praying for the family and friends of the passenger who lost his life in the terrible accident" the statement said.

Blamed... The Wal-Mart truck believed to have caused the accident. Source: AP

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.

"Although the investigation is still pending, we concur with the preliminary reports that the accident was caused by another vehicle travelling behind the Atlantic limo bus," the Rehoboth Beach, Delaware-based company said.

Morgan performed comedy stand-up Friday night at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino. His scheduled appearance at the Fillmore Charlotte in North Carolina on Saturday was cancelled.

Fuqua had tweeted that he was opening for Morgan on Friday. On his Instagram page, Fuqua included a collage of photos from the Delaware show.

Star role... Tracy Morgan with co-stars on 30 Rock Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. Source: News Corp Australia

"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 travelled back to NYC in style in a luxury Mercedes Sprinter. Road life is a good life!"

McNair 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.

Critical condition... Morgan is in hospital with his family by his side. Picture: Robyn Beck Source: AFP

"There may be guys like Tracy who get the fame and notoriety, but you have people like Jimmy Mack who have kind of energised and fuelled 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.

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