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Aide: Corzine Apparently Not Wearing Seat Belt
CAMDEN, N.J. -- New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine apparently wasn't wearing a
seat belt during a crash that left him in critical condition, a spokesman
said Friday.
a.. Despite extensive injuries, Corzine was "lucky," said Dr. Steven E.
Ross, the trauma chief at Cooper University Hospital, where the governor was
taken after Thursday night's wreck.
a..
Ross said the governor is stable and improving, and could be removed from a
ventilator within the next few days. However, Corzine remained heavily
sedated because the pain from chest injuries made it difficult to breathe,
Ross said.
Corzine's children also spoke to the media Friday morning outside the
hospital where their father was being cared for.
"He's a fighter," said Jennifer Corzine, the governor's daughter. "We really
believe he's going to be okay."
Corzine was injured after his SUV crashed into a guardrail on the Garden
State Parkway while heading to a meeting between Don Imus and the Rutgers
women's basketball team.
Spokesman Anthony Coley said Corzine should be able to resume his duties "in
a week or so."
In the meantime, Senate President Richard Codey is acting governor. The
leader of the Senate takes over when the governor resigns, cannot serve or
is out of state.
Corzine was expected to be on a breathing tube and unable to perform his
duties as governor for at least several days and will not be able to walk
normally for months, a doctor said.
Corzine, 60, underwent two hours of surgery Thursday night to repair his leg
and other injuries sustained in the crash on the Garden State Parkway in
Galloway Township.
"He's got a pretty significant rehab in front of him," said Dr. Robert
Ostrum, who performed the surgery at Cooper University Hospital in Camden.
The crash occurred around 6 p.m., State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes
said.
Corzine was riding in the front passenger's seat of a sport utility
vehicle -- driven by a state trooper -- and was en route from Atlantic City
to the governor's mansion in Princeton to moderate a meeting between the
Rutgers women's basketball team and radio personality Don Imus.
The SUV was struck by a white pickup that swerved to avoid a red pickup that
had swerved from the shoulder onto the highway, Fuentes said. The governor's
vehicle, driven by Trooper Robert Rasinski, clipped the white pickup and
slid into a guardrail.
Authorities were still searching for the red pickup truck and its driver.
Troopers in a vehicle following Corzine's administered first aid and called
for help. Corzine, the trooper and a gubernatorial aide were then flown on a
helicopter to the Camden hospital.
Rasinski had only minor injuries and the aide had none.
When Corzine arrived at the hospital, doctors said he was conscious but had
suffered several injuries: a femur bone broken in two places a broken in two
places that had lacerated his skin, a broken sternum, six broken ribs on
each side, a head laceration and a minor fracture on a lower vertebrae.
Ostrum said Corzine's femur broke through his skin and was broken in two
places. A rod was inserted in the leg, and additional operations were
scheduled to be performed on Saturday and Monday.
Corzine, a Democrat, gave up his seat in the U.S. Senate to become governor
in 2006. He succeeded former Gov. James E. McGreevey, who resigned after
saying he had an extramarital affair with a man.
Corzine went into politics after being ousted from Goldman Sachs, where he
had been CEO, in a power dispute in 1999. He was elected to the Senate the
following year.
CAMDEN, N.J. -- New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine apparently wasn't wearing a
seat belt during a crash that left him in critical condition, a spokesman
said Friday.
a.. Despite extensive injuries, Corzine was "lucky," said Dr. Steven E.
Ross, the trauma chief at Cooper University Hospital, where the governor was
taken after Thursday night's wreck.
a..
Ross said the governor is stable and improving, and could be removed from a
ventilator within the next few days. However, Corzine remained heavily
sedated because the pain from chest injuries made it difficult to breathe,
Ross said.
Corzine's children also spoke to the media Friday morning outside the
hospital where their father was being cared for.
"He's a fighter," said Jennifer Corzine, the governor's daughter. "We really
believe he's going to be okay."
Corzine was injured after his SUV crashed into a guardrail on the Garden
State Parkway while heading to a meeting between Don Imus and the Rutgers
women's basketball team.
Spokesman Anthony Coley said Corzine should be able to resume his duties "in
a week or so."
In the meantime, Senate President Richard Codey is acting governor. The
leader of the Senate takes over when the governor resigns, cannot serve or
is out of state.
Corzine was expected to be on a breathing tube and unable to perform his
duties as governor for at least several days and will not be able to walk
normally for months, a doctor said.
Corzine, 60, underwent two hours of surgery Thursday night to repair his leg
and other injuries sustained in the crash on the Garden State Parkway in
Galloway Township.
"He's got a pretty significant rehab in front of him," said Dr. Robert
Ostrum, who performed the surgery at Cooper University Hospital in Camden.
The crash occurred around 6 p.m., State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes
said.
Corzine was riding in the front passenger's seat of a sport utility
vehicle -- driven by a state trooper -- and was en route from Atlantic City
to the governor's mansion in Princeton to moderate a meeting between the
Rutgers women's basketball team and radio personality Don Imus.
The SUV was struck by a white pickup that swerved to avoid a red pickup that
had swerved from the shoulder onto the highway, Fuentes said. The governor's
vehicle, driven by Trooper Robert Rasinski, clipped the white pickup and
slid into a guardrail.
Authorities were still searching for the red pickup truck and its driver.
Troopers in a vehicle following Corzine's administered first aid and called
for help. Corzine, the trooper and a gubernatorial aide were then flown on a
helicopter to the Camden hospital.
Rasinski had only minor injuries and the aide had none.
When Corzine arrived at the hospital, doctors said he was conscious but had
suffered several injuries: a femur bone broken in two places a broken in two
places that had lacerated his skin, a broken sternum, six broken ribs on
each side, a head laceration and a minor fracture on a lower vertebrae.
Ostrum said Corzine's femur broke through his skin and was broken in two
places. A rod was inserted in the leg, and additional operations were
scheduled to be performed on Saturday and Monday.
Corzine, a Democrat, gave up his seat in the U.S. Senate to become governor
in 2006. He succeeded former Gov. James E. McGreevey, who resigned after
saying he had an extramarital affair with a man.
Corzine went into politics after being ousted from Goldman Sachs, where he
had been CEO, in a power dispute in 1999. He was elected to the Senate the
following year.
