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New Jersey Governor critically injured in car crash
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:10 pm
by Brent
Gov. Jon S. Corzine was injured Thursday night in a car accident on the Garden State Parkway, but a spokesman says the injuries are not considered life-threatening.
WCAU television is reporting he has a broken leg. WNBC.com's Brian Thompson confirms that a trooper also was injured.
The accident happened just after 6 p.m. Thursday in a northbound lane of the Garden State Parkway.
New Jersey State Police said the accident was near mile marker 43 in the town of Galloway, and that a Medivac helicopter was rushed to the scene. He was flown to Cooper University Hospital in Atlantic City.
Corzine was elected governor in November, and sworn into office January 17. His term goes through 2010.
http://www.wnbc.com/news/11746846/detai ... =mainclick
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:54 pm
by Jack8631
Garden State Parkway at 6pm on a weeknight. He couldn't have going fast enough to get hurt.

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:24 pm
by Brent

LOL
It was a hit and run!
and I just found out that Imus is meeting with the Rutgers players AT the New Jersey Governor's mansion right now and apparently Corzine was going to be there. Talk about bizarre that two stories like this would clash.
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:02 pm
by Nimbus
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:04 pm
by Stephanie
Jack8631 wrote:Garden State Parkway at 6pm on a weeknight. He couldn't have going fast enough to get hurt.

I was driving home northbound on the Atlantic City Expressway and noticed the news vans for Channel 6 and then Channel 10 heading south bound. I thought it might have had something to do with the Tropicana Casino settling the lawsuit for their garage collapse.
They said that they are looking for a burgundy truck with a cap that has heavy damage. A radio host on WIP said "you KNOW that this truck will be found"!

The state troopers will be out like angry hornets!
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:20 am
by lurkey
I heard that the Corzine was in the front seat and wasn't wearing a seat belt. Isn't it the law to wear a seat belt in the front seats in New Jersey?
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 10:47 am
by Brent
lurker_from_nc wrote:I heard that the Corzine was in the front seat and wasn't wearing a seat belt. Isn't it the law to wear a seat belt in the front seats in New Jersey?
I was shocked to read that apparently he RARELY wears one. He's lucky he's alive...
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 10:58 am
by Category 5
Politicians breaking the law is nothing new in New Jersey
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 11:26 am
by x-y-no
Category 5 wrote:Politicians breaking the law is nothing new in New Jersey
Not just New Jersey ... that's endemic all over.
One would think that sitting next to a State Trooper would incline one to follow the law, but I guess not ...
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 11:36 am
by Brent
Category 5 wrote:Politicians breaking the law is nothing new in New Jersey

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:13 pm
by JTD
This seems to not be a insignificant situation at all. Apparently, he is in critical but stable condition so the Governor was badly injured.
Not funny at all unfortunately.
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:32 pm
by Brent
jason0509 wrote:This seems to not be a insignificant situation at all. Apparently, he is in critical but stable condition so the Governor was badly injured.
Not funny at all unfortunately.
Yeah, I'm not sure this falls under "non-life threatening" anymore. I'm also wondering if he'll ever fully recover enough to become Governor again.
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:52 pm
by Cryomaniac
lurker_from_nc wrote:I heard that the Corzine was in the front seat and wasn't wearing a seat belt. Isn't it the law to wear a seat belt in the front seats in New Jersey?
I'm pretty sure it's illegal just about everywhere... Except maybe Italy, they have some odd-ass traffic laws.
Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 10:34 am
by Stephanie
Cryomaniac wrote:lurker_from_nc wrote:I heard that the Corzine was in the front seat and wasn't wearing a seat belt. Isn't it the law to wear a seat belt in the front seats in New Jersey?
I'm pretty sure it's illegal just about everywhere... Except maybe Italy, they have some odd-ass traffic laws.
It is illegal to not wear a seatbelt.
I have the feeling though that when Governor Corzine gets better, he will publically admit that it was the wrong thing to do, and not because the public demands it. I think that he's not afraid to admit when he has done something wrong.
He's damn lucky though, but in a great hospital, well known for it's trauma unit. My mother was there after her car accident two years ago. She also had a fractured sternum, cracked rib and a fractured vertebrae in the lower part of her neck. She WAS wearing a seat belt, but the airbag didn't deploy, even though it was a head on collision.
Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 11:31 am
by CajunMama
Did they ever find the other vehicle that was involved in the accident?
Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 12:07 pm
by Category 5
CajunMama wrote:Did they ever find the other vehicle that was involved in the accident?
I don't think so.
Because the governor was there, they'll hunt him down like a terrorist.
Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 12:30 pm
by lurkey
x-y-no wrote:Category 5 wrote:One would think that sitting next to a State Trooper would incline one to follow the law, but I guess not ...
Gov simply would not buckle. Cops tried- and refusal almost let to Corzine's death
Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 2:05 pm
by lurkey
Surgery on Injured N.J. Governor's Leg Successful; Source Says Driver of Red Pickup Found
Police find driver in Corzine crash, won't charge
The driver of a red pickup truck accused of causing the crash that critically injured Gov. Jon Corzine will not be charged because he has unaware he had caused an accident, State Police said Saturday.
A state official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly, said the driver was a "special needs driver" who may have a mental impairment.
Acting on information obtained from the Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department, along with leads that state troopers generated from Garden State Parkway surveillance cameras and toll information, authorities found the 20-year-old driver Friday night at an Atlantic City casino, where he works, and interviewed him.
"The statement of the driver of the red Ford pickup indicates that he was unaware that he caused this accident which unfolded as the other two vehicles passed him," State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes said. "He stated that he pulled back onto the road and left the area, believing that he was not involved."
The driver was not identified because he was not charged, state police said.
This is confusing. Even if you were unaware of causing an accident, that shouldn't relieve you of your responsibility in causing an accident. Right? [s]Which leads me to ask was the pickup even involved in the accident?[/s] Edit: According to FOXnews, The red pickup truck had swerved to avoid hitting truck and was unaware that the governor's SUV probably swerved to avoid the red pickup truck.
Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 9:14 am
by Stephanie
lurker_from_nc wrote:Surgery on Injured N.J. Governor's Leg Successful; Source Says Driver of Red Pickup FoundPolice find driver in Corzine crash, won't charge
The driver of a red pickup truck accused of causing the crash that critically injured Gov. Jon Corzine will not be charged because he has unaware he had caused an accident, State Police said Saturday.
A state official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly, said the driver was a "special needs driver" who may have a mental impairment.
Acting on information obtained from the Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department, along with leads that state troopers generated from Garden State Parkway surveillance cameras and toll information, authorities found the 20-year-old driver Friday night at an Atlantic City casino, where he works, and interviewed him.
"The statement of the driver of the red Ford pickup indicates that he was unaware that he caused this accident which unfolded as the other two vehicles passed him," State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes said. "He stated that he pulled back onto the road and left the area, believing that he was not involved."
The driver was not identified because he was not charged, state police said.
This is confusing. Even if you were unaware of causing an accident, that shouldn't relieve you of your responsibility in causing an accident. Right? [s]Which leads me to ask was the pickup even involved in the accident?[/s] Edit: According to FOXnews, The red pickup truck had swerved to avoid hitting truck and was unaware that the governor's SUV probably swerved to avoid the red pickup truck.
I'm confused as wel.. The man that owned the pickup didn't realize that he caused the accident. It seems like it's one person's word against another's. Either way, the white Dodge did hit the Governor's SUV. Perhaps it was a combination of both trucks thinking that the other was going to do something or both were enterring the same lane at the same time.

Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 12:07 pm
by weathermom
According to what I read in todays paper the red pickup ( the one that they were looking for) saw the lights of Corzine's vehicle and pulled over thinking it was an emergency vehicle. It then pulled back on to the roadway as Corzine's vehicle was passing.
Bergen Record
That would explain the the claim that he was driving erradictly and why he wasn't being charged.