N.J. Gov. Leaves Hospital, Admits He Erred

(CBS/AP)  Gov. Jon S. Corzine was discharged from Cooper University Hospital on Monday, 18 days after he was admitted with critical injuries sustained in an automobile crash.

"I understand I set a very poor example for a lot of people," said a teary-eyed Corzine, who was not wearing a seat belt when he was critically injured in an April 12 automobile crash on the Garden State Parkway.

"I certainly hope the state will forgive me. And I'll work very hard to set the right kind of example," Corzine said from his wheelchair outside the hospital.

It was uncertain when he would be able to return to work. State Senate President Richard J. Codey is the acting governor.

Corzine fractured his left thigh and broke 11 ribs, his breastbone and other bones in a crash on April 12. He was operated on three times and a metal rod was inserted to stabilize his leg.

Doctors said Corzine will likely not be able to walk without crutches or a cane for at least six months.

The 60-year-old governor's SUV was being driven by a state trooper at 91 mph when it was clipped by a truck and lost control on the Garden State Parkway, slamming into a guard rail. Corzine wasn't wearing his seat belt, though doing so was required by state law.

A New Jersey resident has filed a civil complaint against Corzine for breaking the law. It carries a $46 fine. Corzine, a former investment banker who headed Goldman Sachs, has a net worth of millions of dollars.

Corzine will use his own money to pay for his medical treatment and will do his rehabilitation from the governor's mansion in Princeton, a spokesman said Friday.

Corzine has a luxury condo on the Hudson River in Hoboken, N.J., across from midtown Manhattan, reports WCBS' Sean Adams. The governor's mansion, Drumthwacket, will be equipped with a chair lift on the formal central staircase, and Corzine himself is paying for a heater for the outdoor pool

Most New Jersey governors do not actually reside in the mansion.

Statehouse workers have been installing fiber-optic cable into the governor's office to allow Corzine to do videoconferencing, spokesman Anthony Coley said.

The governor broke his left thigh in two places, broke 11 ribs, his breastbone, collarbone, and a vertebra in his lower back. He was operated on three times. For more than a week, he breathed with the help of a ventilator and got nutrition through a feeding tube.

He was listed in critical but stable condition until a week ago, when he was upgraded to stable condition and moved from the trauma intensive care unit to a regular hospital room.

The accident prompted State Attorney General Stuart Rabner on Thursday to commission an independent panel of experts to review the state police unit that drives and protects the governor.

This is Codey's fourth announced stint as acting governor. He replaced Jim McGreevey after his resignation in November 2004 and served until Corzine's term began the following January. However, The New York Times reports that Codey or another official has been acting governor many times during Corzine's administration. Corzine has spent one-fourth of his term outside the state.

New Jersey does not yet have a lieutenant governor position. Voters approved such a post in the same election that brought Corzine to power, but the first lieutenant governor will not be elected until the 2008 election.

The governor is the only statewide-elected official in New Jersey. He or she appoints all other executive branch officials, including the attorney general.

[mdk2dude]

The Gov went home from the hospital and told one and all that he had learned his lesson and no longer would he ride in a car without his seatbelt on. Sure enough he wore his seatbelt going home at 75 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone. This guy is arrogant and/or the people of New Jersey deserve this piece of *** for electing him their leader. He is without the ability to conform to laws which he personally didnt make. He should be ticketed again for this latest infraction but I said again and we dont know if he was sited for the first accident/speeding/no seatbelt crime.

[cepe10-2009]

Another example of a "speed related accident" But the State Troopers are clearly padding the numbers now in order to keep the speed limit at an unreasonable low number. If they want to drive off the travelway at 91 mph they should at least have the decency to keep it off the statistics used to justify so many speeding tickets...

And onother good example of the "we don't police each other" approach to speed enforcement.

[bobnjersey]

[And of course, they tried to blame some poor schmuck in a red truck for the accident. Not only arrogant, but liars to boot. And if they put that phantom truck in the original police report, they should both be arrested for falsifying an accident report.]

from all that i've read ... that is exactly what happened. the red truck was in the left lane and the governors vehicles were coming up the road at the accelerated speed. red truck moves to right but goes too far to right and swerves back left ... encroaching the left lane as the governors vehicle is alongside ... at which point the trooper made moves to avoid ... hitting the guardrail ... losing control. the driver of the red truck had their license less than a year.

so ... a professional driver (trooper) ... i believe he was 35 years old (15 years driving exp) ... accelerated speeds in the left lane ... and a less than 1 year driver swerving on the road across lanes.

... and speed is the only factor?

[hedonist3]

booyaw_77 - I have never seen someone so very proud of being so very stupid.

[extremophil]

I wonder if he buckled his seatbelt on the way home from the hospital.

[booyaw_77]

Well, I never wear a seat belt. I paid 20 some thousand dollars for that car.. You think you can bully me? Into putting on a seatbelt? Yer kidding yourself. My only regret is that I didn't buy tinted windows, so Gulianni couldn't tell I was on my cellphone. MY cellphone..

[cbville72]

I sure hope the governor is ok. I really lost a lot of sleep when my dreams of him getting mauled by a bear almost went down the drain when I heard he might die. Now that he is going to be ok, my dream of him getting attacked by a Black Bear for not allowing a hunting season in NJ may still one day come true.

[kansas1946]

The last thing that I care about is whether he was wearing a seat belt. That is his choice, but traveling 95 mph on a freeway is another matter. That endagers everyone. It is that arrogance that policitians and lawmakers seem to catch the minute they are elected that makes them immune to the very laws that they pass. The trooper driving should be charged as anyone else going 95mph on that road. And of course, they tried to blame some poor schmuck in a red truck for the accident. Not only arrogant, but liars to boot. And if they put that phantom truck in the original police report, they should both be arrested for falsifying an accident report.

[michellem99-2009]

In WA state it is a $101 fine not wearing seat belts.The gov should pay for it. Send the message to wear a seat belt. The state govt should not pay but at the same time he know he should have worn his seat belt. It is the first thing that is done after shutting the car door. If I ride in a car it is. Even tho I hate them.

[bill1fj]

The Gov set a bad example?
Him and the trooper broke the same laws they ares supposed to uphold and enforce.
Just another "above the law" corrupt politician.
Throw him out next election.
Send him home to count his millions.