WASHINGTON, D.C — A report issued today by the National Transportation Safety Board said the driver of the rig that slammed into the van carrying Tracy Morgan — critically injuring the comedian and killing another passenger — was speeding and had been working more than 13 consecutive hours.

The preliminary report said the driver, Kevin Roper, who was operating the tractor-trailer for Wal-Mart, was travelling 65 miles an hour in a 45-mile-an-hour zone on the New Jersey Turnpike before the crash that occurred in the early morning hours of June 7, according to the truck’s data recorder.

And, the report added, "The driver had logged 13 hours 32 minutes at the time of the collision."

The agency said the legal limit for a trucker’s shift is 14 hours, and noted that Roper was on the way to Perth Amboy, more than 20 miles from Cranbury , where the crash occurred at 12:54 a.m.

From the time the driver reported for work to the moment of impact, the report said, he had been driving a total of 9 hours and 37 minutes.

"Investigators are compiling and analyzing information to determine the activities of the Peterbilt combination-vehicle driver and the amount of rest he received in the hours and days preceding the crash," the report stated.

A report by the New Jersey State Police indicated Roper had not slept for more than 24 hours before the crash, which killed James McNair, Morgan’s friend who was a comedy writer.

Morgan and his friends were returning from a performance at Dover Downs Casino in Delaware when the crash occurred.

A 3-dimensional scan of the Mercedes-Benz limousine van involved in the June 7 crash.

State Police have declined to say whether Morgan or any other occupants of the van were wearing seatbelts, although the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which issues federal motor vehicle safety standards, said buses or multi-purpose vehicles that weigh under 10,000 pounds are required to have a seat belt in each designated seating position.

Roper, 35, of Jonesboro, Ga., has pleaded not guilty to a single count of death by auto and four counts of assault in State Superior Court in Middlesex County. His lawyer, David Glassman, was not available for comment.

Morgan, 45, who is recovering at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, was listed in fair condition earlier this week. He suffered a broken leg, broken nose, and several broken ribs in the crash. Three others in the van were also injured.

The safety board said it was looking into the accident in conjunction with the New Jersey State Police because of the two commercial vehicles involved,

The crash refocussed national attention on truck driver fatigue just as Congress was poised to roll back a new federal rule that had reduced the work week to 70 hours from 82 hours, and included a mandatory 30-minute break in the first eight hours of a shift.

In response to the crash, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), introduced legislation on Wednesday intended to block the rollback.

Booker and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) issued a joint statement today noting that Roper was just 28 minutes shy of the 14-hour legal limit for his shift, and that he probably would have exceeded it had his trip not been cut short by the accident.

"Too many lives have been lost on our highways as a result of tired, overworked truck drivers who are pushed to the max in the name of corporate profits and at the expense of public safety," Menendez said.

A Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Brooke Buchanan, declined to comment on the NTSB report, citing the continuing investigations. "We’re cooperating fully with law enforcement and the NTSB," Buchanan said. "We’ll comply with whatever rules Congress puts in place."

The report said the truck was headed north, near Cranbury, in the center lane of the three-lane roadway. Traffic had slowed because some lanes were closed for construction 2.7 miles ahead when the truck struck the rear of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter limousine van.

"The limo van rolled over and came to rest on its left side, facing east, across the center and right lanes," the report said. Four other vehicles were involved in the crash, though none of the occupants was seriously injured, the report said.

On June 6, the morning before the crash, the report said, Roper reported to a Wal-Mart facility in Smyrna, Del., and went on duty at 11:22 a.m. Electronic log entries indicated he made deliveries and pickups in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania throughout the day before leaving a company store in Bristol, Pa., at 12:20 a.m. bound for Perth Amboy.

He plowed into the rear of the van about 30 miles after leaving Bristol.

Frank Branson, a Dallas-based lawyer who is president-elect of the Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America, said the driver could face speeding-related charges based on the truck’s "black box" information cited by the NTSB.

Branson said the accident underscored the danger overworked truckers present, citing studies indicating that 41 percent of truckers reported minor fatigue or pressure from work as a factor in accidents, and that 65 percent of fatal accidents occurred on long-haul trips.

"What you’re seeing is attention being brought because of a famous person being involved," Branson said. But, he added, "everybody is subject to that danger."

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