Late last week, Tracy Morgan reached a settlement with Walmart to end his lawsuit against the retail giant in the wake of last summer’s accident in which a Walmart truck plowed into his limo. Earlier today, in his first major public appearance since the settlement was reached, Morgan spoke exclusively with Matt Lauer of NBC’s “Today.”
For those who missed it, the driver of the Walmart truck hadn’t had any sleep in at least 25 hours–11 of which were spent driving all the way from his home in Georgia to a distribution center in Delaware even though there were several centers within a more reasonable distance. Morgan’s legal team had amassed evidence to suggest that Walmart had a bad habit of letting its drivers flout federal rules on work hours and time behind the wheel. Although Walmart initially made a patently insulting argument that Morgan didn’t deserve a penny because he wasn’t buckled up, it eventually came to its senses. As part of the settlement, Walmart admitted responsibility for the accident.
Morgan and his attorney, Benedict Morelli, sat down with Lauer earlier this morning. Watch here.
Morgan, who was steadying himself with a cane, doesn’t remember the details of the accident, but does know that he nearly died that night. “I can’t believe I’m here,” he told Lauer. “I can’t believe I’m in front of you.” He thanked his family and two children, as well as several friends who called in over the last year to cheer him up, such as Tina Fey. He also thanked the medical staff at the two hospitals who cared for him.
Morgan broke down when he talked about his longtime friend and mentor, James “Jimmy Mac” McNair, who was killed in the accident. “He was a good man,” he said. “It’s just hard for me to see that he’s gone.” His last memory of McNair was at the show where he and three other comedians performed in Delaware. They were on their way home when the Walmart truck slammed into the limo on the New Jersey Turnpike.
Morgan was in a coma two weeks after the crash, and it was only after coming to that he found out McNair was gone. Not long after being able to get access to YouTube, Morgan watched McNair’s funeral because “I had to know what happened to my friend” and pay his respects. Morgan said that he’ll be crying for McNair for a long time. “Bones heal,” he said, “but the loss of my friend will never heal.”
Morgan suffered a traumatic brain injury, along with a broken leg and femur, a broken nose, and several broken ribs. He still has scars on his head from the injuries. While he says that he has “my good days and my bad days,” he doesn’t tell his fianc?e, Megan Wollover, about the times when he forgets things or gets headaches and nosebleeds “because I don’t want her to be worried about it.” Ironically, while Wollover and his family traveled to nearly all of Morgan’s gigs, they didn’t this time because their daughter was teething. Had they been on that trip, Morgan doesn’t think they would have made it.
While the terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed, Morgan said that Walmart “stepped up to the plate in a tremendous way.” He’s also gratified that they settled with McNair’s family; earlier this spring Walmart agreed to pay McNair’s kids $10 million in a separate settlement. Morelli added that the negotiations got a little difficult at times.
Morgan has every intention of going back to comedy, though “I’m not 100 percent yet.” However, when he’s there, he’ll let us know when he’s ready to “get back to making you laugh.” Here’s hoping that day comes very soon.
