The comedian and actor Tracy Morgan paid tribute to his deceased friend and collaborator, James Jimmy Mac McNair10 years after the traffic accident that occurred in the New Jersey Turnpike in 2014, which left him on the brink of death.
In a statement issued to People magazine, Morgan, 55, expressed his love and respect for those who were in the van that fateful night.
“Today marks 10 years since our fateful accident“And I want to tell everyone who was in the truck that night that I love you, and we miss Uncle Jimmy Mac. God bless his family,” Morgan said.
Morgan acknowledged the psychological and physical impact that the accident had on his life and how it affected his road to recovery.
On June 7, 2014, the limousine in which he was traveling Tracy Morganalong with six other people, was hit by a company truck Walmart. In the violent crash, McNair, 62, who was Morgan’s mentor and known as “Uncle Jimmy Mac”.
In addition to the tribute to his friend, Morgan also offered words of forgiveness for the driver of the truck involved in the accident: “To the driver that night and his family, my colleagues and I forgive them.”.
The collision not only claimed McNair’s life, but left the actor in a coma for two weeks with multiple injuriesincluding serious fractures.
“I suffered terrible injuries—head trauma. I broke all the bones in my face, my ribs. I pulverized my femur“, he recounted in his comedy special Netflix, Staying Alive 2017. During his recovery, Morgan had to remain in a wheelchair for five months.
One month after the accident, Tracy Morgan Files Lawsuit Against Walmart for Negligencearguing that the company had forced the driver to make a trip of almost 18 hours before his work shift, which meant that he had been awake for more than 24 hours when the collision occurred.
The driver’s lawyer denied this claim. For its part, the company alleged that Morgan and the other three passengers were not wearing seat belts during the accident, which they denied.
Subsequent federal investigations revealed that the truck driver had been awake for more than 28 hours and that the passengers in the limousine were not wearing seat belts. Ultimately, the lawsuit filed by Morgan was resolved in May 2015 through an out-of-court settlement.
The American artist has publicly reflected on the impact of the accident and the loss of Jimmy Mac on various occasions. On the fifth anniversary of the incident, in 2019, Morgan posted on the social network X (previously known as Twitter): “There isn’t a day that I don’t miss my friend Jimmy Mac, who unfortunately lost his life that night. I love you, Jimmy. “I thank God for my family.”
After the accident, he went through a phase of erratic behavior, which his then-wife attributed to his habitual personality. “After the coma, I behaved erratically. The doctors told my wife, ‘Mrs. Morgan, that’s because of the brain trauma.’ And my wife looked at the doctor and said, ‘No, no. He’s always been crazy. I was hoping the accident would fix his crazy brain,’” she said.
In 2020, Tracy Morgan admitted in an interview with People: “I have my good days and my bad days. “I just want to get better and get healthy.” Above all, he highlighted on that occasion: “I’m happy to be alive”.
“I am eternally grateful for the love and support you give me. My wife, daughter, children and friends They are the ones who got me back on my feet. I live every day trying to do right by them and take advantage of this second chance“, he concluded in his statement, reflecting on what has allowed him to move forward after the tragedy.
