ABC/Lou Rocco(NEW YORK) — Saturday Night Live alum Tracy Morgan has forgiven the Wal-Mart truck driver who caused the crash that nearly killed him.
Speaking to New York magazine’s Vulture ahead of the premiere of his new Netflix special, Staying Alive, Morgan said he forgave the driver in order to move on with his life.
“The hardest part about all of this was forgiving that driver … because if I didn’t do that, we wouldn’t be sitting here talking,” he said. “I couldn’t move forward if I ain’t forgive him.”
Morgan turned to his faith to reach that place.
“I asked God for the strength. That’s the only way that strength come from,” he said. “You ever had people do wrong to you? You ever forgave them? Where you think that kind of strength come from? The government? No.”
The driver, Kevin Roper, had been awake for more than 28 hours and was traveling 20 miles per hour above the speed limit when he hit the limo van Morgan was riding in on the New Jersey Turnpike in 2014. Morgan, who was headed back home after a show in Delaware, was left with multiple broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. His best friend and fellow comedian, James McNair, was killed.
Although Morgan admits to still struggling with guilt over his friend’s death,he says he tries not to relive the experience; instead, he focuses on his new purpose in life, which he says is “to connect the dots and spread love,” he said.
Last November, Roper accepted a plea deal, which allowed him to enter a diversion program and avoid going to trial upon competition of 300 hours of community service.
McNair’s family and Morgan sued Wal-Mart, and both lawsuits were later settled.
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