Tina Fey Says Tracy Morgan Is Often in ‘Tears’ Over His ‘Gratitude for Life’ 11 Years After Surviving Fatal Car Crash
- - Tina Fey Says Tracy Morgan Is Often in ‘Tears’ Over His ‘Gratitude for Life’ 11 Years After Surviving Fatal Car Crash
Yamillah HurtadoDecember 19, 2025 at 9:55 PM
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Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan -
Tina Fey says Tracy Morgan’s "gratitude for life" shapes how he shows up on set
“Listen, Tracy’s literally happy to be alive. And that energy is contagious. He’s thrilled to be able to work and make comedy, and he loves everyone around him,” Fey told EW
In June 2014, Morgan was involved in a fatal car crash that killed his friend and fellow comedian Jimmy McNair
Tina Fey is thrilled to be working with her fellow Saturday Night Live alum Tracy Morgan again.
For Entertainment Weekly’s 2026 Preview cover story on Morgan’s upcoming series, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, Fey, who's an executive producer, spoke to the outlet about the comedian’s perspective on life since surviving a fatal car crash in 2014.
The collision left Morgan critically injured and killed his friend and mentor, Jimmy McNair.
“Listen, Tracy’s literally happy to be alive,” Fey told EW. “And that energy is contagious. He’s thrilled to be able to work and make comedy, and he loves everyone around him.”
“Getting to hang out with Tracy between takes, he’ll be telling a crazy story, and then the next moment he and I will be embracing, and he’s in tears about his gratitude for life.”
“He’s just such a wonderful presence to be around, and I’ve really missed him,” Fey added.
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Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan at the 58th Emmy Awards in 2006
On June 7, 2014, Morgan was involved in a deadly car crash that left him in a coma for two weeks and with a broken leg. The actor was in a limousine with six other people when a Walmart tractor-trailer hit it on the New Jersey Turnpike, leaving him with sustained severe brain trauma.
Morgan sued Walmart, and one year after the crash, he and the corporation settled, with the latter taking “full responsibility” for the accident.
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On the 10th anniversary of the collision, Morgan told PEOPLE, “Today is 10 years since our fateful accident, and I want to say to everyone who was in the van with me that night, I love you, and we miss you, Uncle Jimmy Mac and God bless your family.”
He continued, “And to the driver that night and his family, me and my comrades forgive you.”
NBC/Jamie McCarthy/NBC via Getty
Tracy Morgan at Saturday Night Live's 50th Anniversary in February 2025
Five years after the accident, Morgan posted an emotional reflection on Twitter, saying, “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t miss my friend Jimmy Mac.”
“I thank GOD for my family. I am eternally grateful for the love and support they give me. My wife, daughter, sons, and friends are what got me back on my feet. I live every day trying to do right by them and the most of this second chance.”
In 2017, the comedian told PEOPLE that his near-death experience impacted his career.
"I got hit by a truck. It was a great story. So that's what happened. I had a story to tell," he said ahead of his Netflix special Staying Alive.
"When anything ever bad happened to me, I made it funny and I turned it good," he added. "This was a bad thing that happened to me. I wanted to tell my story, but I also want to continue my standup career because all the great things that ever happened to me in my life came through standup."
"All the great things came through standup," he continued. "I'm just continuing it. Why would I stop? [The accident] wasn't going to stop me. As long as I could stand up and grab the mic, I was going to tell my story."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
