Comedian Tracy Morgan was critically injured in a six-car pileup on the New Jersey Turnpike early Saturday morning when a Walmart tractor-trailer struck the limo bus he was riding in from behind. The crash also critically injured several passengers on the bus and killed fellow comedian James "Jimmy Mack" McNair. According to Boston.com, Kevin Roper, the driver of the tractor-trailer, reportedly had not slept for more than 24 hours at the time of the crash. Roper has been charged with vehicular homicide, assault, and reckless driving.

According to Boston.com, Roper dozed off behind the wheel of the 18-wheeler and apparently failed to slow for traffic, causing him to crash into Morgan's vehicle. In response, groups are speaking out against an amendment that a Senate committee approved Thursday to restore older rest rules for commercial drivers, says Bloomberg Businessweek. The ammendment would restore the commercial trucking industry's work week to 82 hours from the current 70 hours and take away a required 30-minute break during the first eight hours of a driving shift. The current rest rules were imposed last summer after years of increasing fatal truck accidents, says Businessweek.

Groups like Parents Against Tired Truckers, the Teamsters union, and the American Trucking Associations hope the publicity from Morgan's tragic crash will halt the amendment from passing and highlight the importance of increased rest and other safety measures for drivers of commercial fleets. The safety discussion will no doubt make its way into the commercial trucking insurance industry, where driver reliability and safety is a top risk.

Walmart suspended Roper pending the outcome of the crash investigation, spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan told Businessweek. On Saturday, Bill Simon, Walmart's chief executive, said the company was "profoundly sorry that one of our trucks was involved."

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Deadly Truck Crash Critically Injures Comedian, Sparks Debate on Commercial Trucking Safety

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