Kevin Roper, the Walmart truck driver who crashed into a limo bus carrying comedian Tracy Morgan in June 2014, wants the criminal charges against him thrown out.
Roper’s attorney, David Glassman, told the Associated Press on Friday that he will ask a Middlesex County, New Jersey, judge on Tuesday to dismiss the case.
Glassman contends that Roper won’t be able to get a fair trial due to the negative publicity generated by Morgan’s lawsuit against Walmart. The crash has made headlines for seriously injuring Morgan and killing fellow comedian James McNair.
Roper has been charged with one count of death by auto and four counts of assault by auto, though he has not yet been indicted.
Morgan settled with Walmart over the summer in a lawsuit Roper had unsuccessfully attempted to delay until his criminal case was resolved.
In August, the National Transportation Safety Board determined that Roper hadn’t slept during the 28 hours preceding the crash, though Glassman has called that assertion “factually wrong.”