NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Actor and comedian Tracy
Morgan was critically injured in a fatal six-vehicle pileup on the New
Jersey Turnpike on Saturday, hours after performing a standup routine at
a show in Delaware, authorities said.
A limousine bus carrying
the former "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock" cast member and six
others overturned after it was hit by a tractor-trailer near Cranbury
Township at about 1 a.m., state police Sgt. 1st Class Greg Williams
said.
James McNair, 62, of Peekskill, New York, a passenger in the
limo bus, died in the crash, Williams said. Three other men, including
Morgan, were in critical condition at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, and
one was in fair condition, he said. Two occupants weren’t injured.
Morgan’s publicist said the comedian was in the chauffeured vehicle returning from a tour date when the
crash occurred.
"His
family is now with him and he is receiving excellent care," spokesman
Lewis Kay said in a statement. "We don’t anticipate much of a change in
his condition today but will provide a further update once more
information becomes available."
Williams declined to release details of the pileup, which involved two tractor-trailers, an SUV, two cars
and Morgan’s limo bus.
Kay’s statement did not reveal the extent of Morgan’s injuries or identify the others involved in the
crash.
Morgan
performed comedy standup Friday night at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino
in Delaware. His scheduled appearance at the Fillmore Charlotte in
North Carolina on Saturday night has been canceled.
The
45-year-old New York City native joined "SNL" in 1996 and was on the
sketch-comedy program for seven years before leaving 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.
One of his signature
routines on "30 Rock" involved an award category his character invented
called an "EGOT," representing all the entertainment-related awards he
hoped to win: an Emmy, a Grammy, and Oscar and a Tony.
Morgan grew
up fatherless, one of five siblings, in a blighted section of Brooklyn,
where he helped raise and support the family.
He once called his
gift for being funny "a defense mechanism" for his miserable
circumstances. As a teen, he started doing comedy on the streets to
supplement the family’s welfare income.
His tough upbringing informed his humor.
"My
aunt was a crackhead," he told his Brooklyn audience in a recent
special aired on Comedy Central. "I remember one Christmas she bought me
a Game Boy. Then she stole it. Then she helped me look for it."
In
recent years, he has struggled with alcoholism and has been arrested on
drunken driving charges. He had a successful kidney transplant in late
2010.
Morgan’s films include "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," ”The Longest Yard," ”First
Sunday," ”Rio" and "Why Stop Now."
The New Jersey Turnpike was closed for more than five hours after the crash.
___
Associated Press writer Bob Lentz in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
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