N.J. Gov. Corzine About To Leave Hospital
Gov. Jon S. Corzine was expected to leave the hospital on Monday, 2½ weeks after being seriously injured in a car crash.
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 it 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 video conferencing, 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 and a metal rod was inserted to stabilize his leg. 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.