People: Safety board shares details of limo wreck involving Tracy Morgan
A Wal-Mart truck driver who hadn’t slept in 28 hours failed to slow down despite posted warning signs and was responsible for a highway crash last year that severely injured comedian Tracy Morgan and killed another comedian, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.
But the board said the failure of Morgan and other passengers in a limousine-van to wear seat belts and adjust headrests contributed to the severity of injuries when the limo was struck from behind by the truck.
Most of their injuries were caused when the passengers were whipped around or thrown into the sides of the vehicle, the board said at a meeting to determine the cause of the crash and make safety recommendations.
The board said truck driver Kevin Roper, of Jonesboro, Georgia, could have prevented the June 7, 2014, crash if he had slowed to 45 mph, the posted speed limit for the construction work zone on the New Jersey Turnpike near Cranbury, where the crash occurred.
Comedian James “Jimmy Mack” McNair, of Peekskill, New York, a mentor of Morgan’s, was killed. Morgan suffered head trauma, and was in a coma for two weeks. Three other passengers in the limo suffered serious injuries.
Roper was charged with death by auto and four counts of assault by auto in state court in New Jersey. He has pleaded not guilty.
Kardashian posts violate FDA rules
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian is no stranger to criticism, having spent the better part of the last decade in the public eye. But she’s probably never faced negative publicity like this before: The Food and Drug Administration says Kardashian’s social media posts violate federal drug-promotion rules.
Kardashian recently began promoting a prescription pill – Diclegis – to treat morning sickness through her social media accounts. In posts to Instagram and Facebook earlier this month Kardashian talks about her struggles with nausea due to pregnancy.
Kardashian has over 42 million followers on Instagram and 25 million on Facebook. The posts link to a company website that includes the FDA-approved labeling information.
Kardashian is five months pregnant with her second child, a boy, with husband Kanye West.
But FDA regulators say the posts violate rules for promoting drugs because they don’t mention side effects of Diclegis, which include sleepiness that can make it dangerous to drive or perform other activities that require mental alertness. The drug label warns that Diclegis should not be combined with alcohol or other medications that cause drowsiness. The posts also fail to mention that Diclegis is not approved for women with a form of prolonged vomiting.
The birthday bunch
Actor George Hamilton is 76. Rock singer-musician Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) is 66. Jazz musician Pat Metheny is 61. Rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot is 52. Actor-comedian Michael Ian Black is 44. Actor Casey Affleck is 40.