Aides: Corzine Not Wearing Seat Belt ~ in violation of NJ Law....

6ABC ^ | April 13, 2007 | AP

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. - April 13, 2007 - Gov. Jon S. Corzine was apparently not wearing his seat belt as required by law when his official SUV crashed into a guard rail, leaving the governor hospitalized in critical condition, two spokesmen said Friday.

A state trooper was at the wheel and the governor was sitting as usual in the front passenger seat when the SUV slammed into a guard rail Thursday night, authorities said. Corzine broke a leg, his breastbone, 12 ribs and a vertebra.

Corzine, 60, was sedated and on a breathing tube, and a doctor who helped treat him said the governor was fortunate he was not more seriously hurt.

"There's no way to tell specifically how close he came to more severe injuries, but based on pictures I've seen of the crash, I think he's lucky," said Dr. Steven E. Ross, trauma chief at Cooper University Hospital.

Ross said Corzine was stable and improving, and could be removed from a ventilator within the next few days. But a spokesman said it was unclear how long it would take before the governor was well enough to return to work.

State police were looking for the driver of a pickup truck they believe caused the crash and fled. That driver could be charged with careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. The governor himself could face a citation.

New Jersey law requires all front-seat occupants of a vehicle to wear a seat belt. Violators face a $46 fine.

Corzine chief of staff Tom Shea said he did not believe the governor had been wearing his seat.

"If he was not, he certainly should have been," Shea said, "and we would encourage the state police to issue a citation."

Shea said Corzine usually wears his seat belt. When asked why the trooper who was driving would not have asked Corzine to put on his seat belt, Shea said the governor was "not always amenable to suggestion."

Senate President Richard J. Codey, a fellow Democrat, took over as acting governor. It is a familiar role for Codey, who served the last 14 months of Gov. James E. McGreevey's term after he disclosed a gay affair and resigned in 2004.

The accident happened while Corzine was en route from Atlantic City to the governor's mansion in Princeton for a meeting between the Rutgers women's basketball team and radio host Don Imus, who was fired for using a slur to describe the athletes.

State Trooper Robert Rasinski was driving the governor's Chevrolet Suburban when another vehicle, swerving to avoid a pickup truck, hit the sport utility vehicle and sent it off the Garden State Parkway, authorities said. Police following the governor in another vehicle administered first aid to Corzine and called for a helicopter.

Rasinski also was injured. His condition was not disclosed, but Codey said he was expected to be released from the hospital Friday. A governor's aide in the vehicle was not hurt, authorities said.

The speed limit was 65 mph. State police said speed was not believed to be a factor, but they had no immediate word on how fast the SUV was going. Shea said he did not know whether its air bags deployed.

Authorities searched for the driver of the red Ford F-150 pickup truck blamed for the wreck, checking video cameras mounted at toll plazas along the highway. The motorist had been driving erratically just before the crash, state police said.

The accident marks the third straight time a New Jersey governor has broken a leg while in office. McGreevey broke his leg in 2002 during a nighttime walk on the beach, and Christie Whitman broke her leg while skiing in the Swiss Alps in 1999.

[Beelzebubba]

The speed limit was 65 mph. State police said speed was not believed to be a factor, but they had no immediate word on how fast the SUV was going.

---

Sure. Whatever you say.

[MeanWestTexan]

Karma’s a bitch.

[pissant]

Figures. A lib politician. Was his driver drinking too?

[Radix]

If this guy is being ventilated, then they are probably understating the seriousness of his condition.

Probably flail chest, and that can get hairy. No pun intended.

[ReleaseTheHounds]

And of course, the State of NJ will pick up his medical bills — even though he was violating their law and his injuries can be credited to his illegal and stupid behavior.

[dfwgator]

I’m convinced that there never was any red pickup truck in the area, and rather it was invented as a coverup for Corzine’s SUV speeding.

[TSchmereL]

This is so silly.

Law are not for Liberal Democrats! Laws are only for the little people.

[stubernx98]

Liberals do not have to follow the law, well except for Newtons law.

[DCPatriot]

He should be impeached...recalled...or whatever they do to remove a governor in New Jersey.

[FMBass]

If I’m not mistaken not wearing a seat belt is only a crime in NJ if you are a registered Republican.

[DCPatriot]

I he was riding in the back seat of the SUV, then was he still breaking the law not wearing a seatbelt?

[Voltage]

He was in a big honking SUV! I am shocked, I thought he would be in a dinky car so as to reduce global warming.

[Night Hides Not]

Shea said Corzine usually wears his seat belt. When asked why the trooper who was driving would not have asked Corzine to put on his seat belt, Shea said the governor was "not always amenable to suggestion."

Do as I say, not do as I do...the laws are only for the little people.

[CholeraJoe]

Not just a flail chest, flail sternum and a myocardial contusion. That behaves just like a heart attack. I took care of a 26 year old with a myocardial contusion and he ended up a cardiac cripple.

[mware]

I have travels on that portion of the Garden State Parkway. You have to be going at least 70 to pass to get into the left lane so you can get off exit 43. Once you get into that lane, you have to slow down so that you can get off the exit which also serves as a rest and fuel stop.

It is one nasty section of road.

[blam]

Political elites are exempt from the law.

[Melinda]

McGreevey broke his leg during a nighttime walk on a beach? That one invites a bit more comment.

[mware]

In Jersey, children under 12 must wear a seatbelt if in the back seat. Adults can chose to wear the seat belt or not.

[Cincinna]

Just like all the Liberals, “do as I say, not as I do”.

[Sooth2222]

"The speed limit was 65 mph. State police said speed was not believed to be a factor, but they had no immediate word on how fast the SUV was going."

I think the Tahoe has one of those Big Brother "black boxes". I'd think the information should be downloaded as the investigation progresses.

My guess is about 80-90MPH the way the NJ Troopers usually drive.

[goldstategop]

Just behaving the way a lib does. The law is for the Little People.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[DCPatriot]

Similarly in Maryland.

Therefore, he wasn't breaking any laws.

[mdefranc]

“...McGreevey broke his leg in 2002 during a nighttime walk on the beach....” - article

One hesitates to ask....

[decimon]

I’m convinced that there never was any red pickup truck...

Was it red? I heard it was a white Dodge pickup. Thought that weird as a white Dodge pickup almost creamed me at about the same time as Corzine got his.

[mware]

I think he was in the front seat.

[Roccus]

If you read the first two, very short paragraphs of the article, you will discover that he was in the suicide seat.

[capydick]

McGreevey broke his leg in 2002 during a nighttime walk on the beach

With his boyfriend. Although it was one of the worst kept secrets at the time, the NJ media still covers for him.

[mware]

A red pick up on the shoulder of the road pulled out, causing a white vehicle to swerve towards the SUV driven by the state trooper. He had to swerve out of the way hitting the guard rail.

[TYVets]

If he was riding in the back seat of the SUV, then was he still breaking the law not wearing a seatbelt?

In the past Missouri drivers got the ticket if a passenger was not wearing a seat belt.

I think that law was changed and the passenger now gets the ticket , not the driver.

[mware]

Yeap, I had read in several articles that he often road in the front seat.

[fooman]

The black box of the SUV should be pulled as we were talking about on the other thread.

Also questions should be asked to how late Corzine was running.

[4yearlurker]

“Do you want your job trooper? Just shut up and drive this friggin machine! Is that clear!!”

[llevrok]

the governor was "not always amenable to suggestion

So NJ has a governor who flaunts the law (let alone a Trooper is scared to enforce it).

And one wonders why there are few heros for kids to look up to??

[goldstategop]

Most states have a Click It Or Ticket law. Wearing a seatbelt saves lives. If you're that stupid not to wear it, you shouldn't be driving or be a passenger.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[decimon]

Thanks. In my case it was a guy not watching the road. A winding road. ^$!@*&$ idiot.

[llevrok]

Also questions should be asked to how late Corzine was running

I'd say he is stuck in 1970 or so.....

[dfwgator]

“Do you want your job trooper? Just shut up and drive this friggin machine! Is that clear!!”

And if you were an Arkansas Trooper in the 1980s, you could add, "And go find some hot babes for me."

[traviskicks]

bookmark

[scannell]

I doubt he was ridding in the front seat. Is NJ law like Ohio where the requirement for seat belts is limited to the Front seats?

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

impeached...recalled...or whatever they do to remove a governor in New Jersey.

Maybe they send the dreaded "red pickup truck"!

Regards,
GtG

[DCPatriot]

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/displayUpdate.htm?StoryID=58943

[BallyBill]

Someone mention Karma:

[conservative in nyc]

I he was riding in the back seat of the SUV, then was he still breaking the law not wearing a seatbelt?

Not in New Jersey. But by all recent accounts, Corzine was sitting in the front seat.

[conservative in nyc]

McGreevey broke his leg during a nighttime walk on a beach?

Yes. With his WIFE (or jogging in front of her). On Cape May. After dark. In FEBRUARY.

If you believe the official story. The New York Times told us so, so it must be true. Haven't we all gone for a walk on the beach with our spouses or boyfriend/girlfriend on a cool, windy February night?

[Silly]

But surely a man like him is above the law.

[bpjam]

I think was better a penalty than just a ticket from one of New Jerseys finest.. Would rather have seen him to jailtime for his crimes against his citizens of NJ, but karma determines the punishment....

[MIchaelTArchangel]

And he will probably complain about how the seat belt wrinkles his suit.

[Bulwark]

No... in the back seat you don’t have to wear a seatbelt. Corzine was not in violation of the law.

[freeangel]

Pssst—”in violation of NJ state law”

Since when were laws any deterrent for democrats?