NJ governor takes a hit
 

The big news around here is that his honor Jon Corzine is laid up in intensive care after his SUV was struck and forced off of the Garden State Parkway. Some of the most heated debate revolves around the governor's not having his seatbelts on at the time of the incident, which would likely have helped him to avoid the fifteen fractures he sustained.

I hear that the fine for not buckling up is $46. Last heard, Corzine was personally worth upwards of $70M. That'll teach him.

Some say he was on his way to pay a visit to the I-man.

What a disaster :(

From what I hear, he'll be out of commission for at least 6 months.

Now, this raises an interesting situation.

New Jersey's policy is that if an acting governor is in place for 180 combined days, he will be considered Governor.

Now, Codey has, if I recall correctly, 2-3 months in already, from 2 previous stints as acting governor. If he is in office for more than 180 days, will he be the defacto governor of this fair state, or will he have to turn the reins of office over to Corzine if Corzine resumes his duties?

I don't think this situation has happened here before, but I could be wrong...

BTW, milkfish, what area of NNJ are you from?

Bad? Yes, people getting hurt is bad.


Disaster? Not by a long shot.
Thousands dying in Darfur is a disaster.
Thousands dying in Iraq is a disaster.
9/11 was a disaster.
My iPod dying was a disaster. (well okay, maybe not that one)

This? This is just some old man getting in a wreck and, yes, getting hurt, but not dying. Not a disaster by any means, to anyone but him and the driver who surely got fired.

Yes, the gov was on the way to mediate the Imus situation, but they came to a decision without him anyway.

I don't think Codey much wants the job. He could have had it before. The way things are now here, I wouldn't want the job either.

I'm in Dumont, smack in the middle of Bergen County. But we are transplants, only having been here about 10 years.

No shit?

Bogota.

Ah, the borough whose name constitutes an ironclad test for Bergen County nativehood.

The authorities located the guy whose pickup truck initiated the whole accident, questioned him, then let him go, on the grounds that he didn't know he was the cause. What? that never happens!

We drove through Jersey today. There was a wee bit o' water on the road. Well more like a foot and a half. The subaru did it but maybe a snorkel tube would be wise next time.

How true.
I grew up in Mahwah, lived in Ramsey, Englewood, Hackensack, and Rutherford.
When the wife (Born in Dublin, Ireland, raised in New Milford) and I went looking for an apartment, I found one here.
When I told her where it was, she said "Where the hell is that?"

Then it is announced that he's a special needs driver.
I assume that means handicapped.
I always thought special needs meant mentally disabled.
Then we hear that he works for the Casino Gaming Commision (or whatever the name is).
Always bet on green, sonny.

I was stuck in traffic jam that followed Corzine's accident. When I finally drove by his mangled suv, I thought for sure someone had died of a result. Later that night, I found out it was the govenor.
..On a side note, I don't believe the story the driver of the red Ford told authorities.
....on a side note of a side note, the red Ford driver lives 2 miles from me.

Best I can tell, Corzine is lucky to be alive. He was thrown from the front seat into the third row (according to press reports). Crashes like this, when involving SUVs, usually roll over. That because that SUV is so unstable. One in four roll overs involve fatalities. Apparently his driver did a spectacular job of avoiding that roll over.

Corzine's SUV had plenty of room to avoid the white truck. But his SUV hit that white truck suggesting a collision caused the SUV to swear significantly. Swerving so great that the SUV could not use that room to safely pass a white truck. SUVs easily roll over once they swerve like that.

Meanwhile, why is the Governor's convoy driving at such excessive speeds? 20+ MPH difference from cars in other lanes is excessively dangerous. Can't he leave early enough to meet Imus like everyone else? Why is that question also not being asked? In the same county, a state trooper was doing the same excessive speeding and killed two sisters. At what point do we hold those in power responsible for their actions?

Just a few more questions that ask about the bigger picture.

What a lame excuse.

N.J. Gov.'s SUV Went 91 Mph Before Crash Updated 6:07 PM ET April 17, 2007
http://dailynews.att.net/news/aphome...crashe7caT.jpg
By ANGELA DELLI SANTI
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - The sport utility vehicle carrying Gov. Jon S. Corzine was traveling about 91 mph moments before it crashed, the superintendent of state police said Tuesday.
The governor was critically injured when the vehicle crashed into a guardrail on the Garden State Parkway just north of Atlantic City last week. He apparently was not wearing his seat belt as he rode in the front passenger's seat.
The speed limit along that stretch of the parkway is 65 mph.
The state trooper-driven SUV was in the left lane with its emergency lights flashing when a pickup tried to get out of its way. Instead, it set off a chain reaction that resulted in the crash.
Corzine broke his left thigh bone, 11 ribs, collarbone and chest bone. He also fractured a vertebrae in his lower back.
He remained in critical but stable condition Tuesday and doctors were assessing when he might be ready to breathe without a ventilator.
Doctors have said he doesn't have brain damage or paralysis, and is doing well for someone who sustained so many injuries.
The driver, trooper Robert Rasinski, could be charged if investigators determine the crash was preventable, Superintendent of State Police Col. Rick Fuentes said.
Rasinski and an aide to the governor were not seriously hurt.
There is no timetable for when Corzine may be able to resume governing the state. Sen. President Richard J. Codey is acting governor.
Once Corzine is breathing unassisted, he should be able to speak. That milestone would make it possible for physical therapists to do more to help him regain use of his leg _ a process expected to take up to six months.
Corzine, a 60-year-old former investment banker, gave up his seat in the U.S. Senate to become governor in 2006.
___
Associated Press writers Geoff Mulvihill in Camden and Tom Hester Jr. in Trenton contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



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Here's the best part -

"The driver, trooper Robert Rasinski, could be charged if investigators determine the crash was preventable, Superintendent of State Police Col. Rick Fuentes said."

Was the Imus meeting so important that Corzine needed to be there?
If he had to be there, did he need to get there that fast?
Apparently, a vehicle traveling alongside his SUV is less of a problem than a stationary I-beam.

Of course the trooper will be blamed, even considering that the gov was more than likely ordering him to increase his speed.