New Jersey Denies Claim by Trooper in Corzine Crash

The New Jersey pension board has denied a service-related disability claim from the state trooper who was behind the wheel in an accident that nearly killed then-Governor Jon Corzine, three years ago. KYW's David Madden reports he'll have to settle for his regular pension.

Robert Rasinski, 38, was suspended for three days following the 2007 accident on the Garden State Parkway. He was deemed "culpably inefficient" for driving 91 miles per hour before the crash.

He claims now to suffer back pain and post traumatic stress from the accident.

The pension board didn't buy it. Andy Pratt is a spokesman for the Treasury Department:
"They declined to give him a full accidental pension, which would have given him more than 60 percent of his salary-- a much higher rate over the years."

Rasinski will get 40 percent of his salary. That's after three years of credits were deducted for disciplinary infractions not related to the crash.

That makes his monthly pension check about $3,000, not $5,000, although he will get state-paid health care.

Rasinski, who could not be reached for comment, can appeal the decision.