Tracy Morgan revealed that he would trade in all of his success for his friend to come back after his passing.
Morgan was traveling in a limousine bus on the New Jersey Turnpike. He was critically injured when a Walmart tractor-trailer struck the vehicle in 2014. The collision caused a multi-car chain reaction. Tragically, his friend and fellow comedian, James “Jimmy Mack” McNair, was killed.
Morgan eventually settled with Wal-Mart for a reported $90 Million.
“I’d give it all back if I get my friend back,” he told Nate Burleson for CBS Mornings. “And I wouldn’t blink.”
Fighting back tears, Tracy continued, “Miss you, Jim. I’d give it all back if I could get him back. But that’s not gonna happen, so I gotta live on.”
Morgan sustained life-threatening injuries, including a traumatic brain injury (TBI), a broken leg, broken ribs, and a broken nose, which led to an eight-day coma and months of intensive rehabilitation to relearn basic functions like walking.
“There are days where I don’t physically feel well,” he said. “You gotta understand what I’ve been through. I’ve been hit by a truck that was doing 75 miles per hour with 85,000 pounds of frozen food in the back.”
Morgan said he forgave the Walmart driver who almost killed him “as soon as I came out the coma.”
If he didn’t forgive him, Morgan said, “I wouldn’t be able to move forward.”
Morgan also spoke about his new Paramount+ comedy series “Crutch” and how his love for family inspired the project.
On the show, Morgan plays Frank Crutchfield, a widowed father of two adult kids who move back into the family home in New York City’s Harlem. It’s a spinoff of “The Neighborhood” CBS hit show.
“Prepping my whole life, man. I’ve got kids. My real wife died, Sabina. She passed away eight years ago. I know this guy,” Morgan said.
“I was with her in the hospital the day she closed her eyes and I said, ‘I love you.
Morgan continued: “I miss you and please forgive me for any hurt I’ve ever caused you and I will see you again.’”