NJ governor takes a hit

[Sheldonrs]

Originally Posted by milkfish

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.

As a former Passaic County resident (Clifton), I laugh at you! haha!



Ps: Also lived in Fairlawn, Elmwood Park (when it was still East Paterson and after) Ridgewood, Moonachie, Parkridge and a few others.

[BigV]

CG--I believe the trooper will be blamed, and justifiably so. Even soldiers are exempt from illegal orders. Come on, would you suggest that the Governor is responsible assuming he did demand that the trooper speed? Who else could it be, if not the trooper? Obviously, other vehicles around the vehicle have some responsibility too, but aren't we all trained and charged to drive safely? I have a hard time seeing how driving 91 mph on the freeway doesn't significantly reduce the margin of error, and thereby decrease the safety of the situation.

[glatt]

I've seen that the SUV had "emergency lights" flashing. Does that mean hazard flashers that all SUVs come equipped with, or were they flashing lights like a cop car? Anyone know?

[BigV]

A minor point *at best*. Look to all the recent changes in police department policies across the nation that are moving to "Do Not Pursue". Even the best equipped cop cars, lights, tires, etc, are being used in a safer manner, safer for the cop driver, safer for the fleeing perp, safer for the people and property whizzing by at 90 mph. Really now. If the cops are being told, "let him flee" because chasing is too dangerous, how can traveling at the same kinds of rates be "safe" for the Gov? I just don't see it.

That cliche' Speed Kills? It has more than just a grain of truth to it.

[tw]

Originally Posted by glatt

I've seen that the SUV had "emergency lights" flashing. Does that mean hazard flashers that all SUVs come equipped with, or were they flashing lights like a cop car?

The vehicle must appear as any other vehicle. Those flashing lights are typically strobe lights mounting inside headlights. Politicians don't ride in vehicles with big overhead flashing lights. But that big overhead lighting is necessary for long distance high speed travel. Well they are 'the power'. Therefore they are exempt even from wearing seat belts?

If safety was taken seriously, then an SUV would not be used. SUVs are dangerous vehicles both for its occupants and for other vehicles. You can't tell that to those who magically know without first learning facts. They are big; therefore they must be safer? Junk science reasoning.

This should have been a trivial crash. Notice, for example, that other struck vehicle had no injuries. SUV passenger compartment was completely intact. Therefore no one should have been seriously hurt. SUV had no reason for doing more than 10 MPH more than adjacent cars. None. Not even for security reasons.

Again numbers. Assuming the other vehicle was doing the speed limit (65 MPH), then SUV brakes had to dissipate double energy which would explain why the SUV could not slow or stop sufficiently. By going too fast, SUV energy content was double what it should have been. But again, this SUV probably should have rolled considering how much it (reported to be) was swerving.

Every report should start with irresponsible actions of that Governor, his staff, or his security detail. Oh. Blame Imus.

[TheMercenary]

If you drive 65 mph on any major highway in NJ you will get run over. I'm just saying...

Originally Posted by Ibram

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.

I am pretty sure it is a disaster for his family and loved ones... your post is callous and shows a true lack of compassion.

[Ibby]

Note how I did say that it was bad, and that i qualified it by saying it was a disaster for him (and his driver but I was kinda half-kidding about that). Me stubbing my toe is a disaster too, to myself, especially if I was carrying something.
We're not on the same page here, I don't think. There're disasters and there're DISASTERS.

[Crimson Ghost]

Originally Posted by BigV

CG--I believe the trooper will be blamed, and justifiably so. Even soldiers are exempt from illegal orders. Come on, would you suggest that the Governor is responsible assuming he did demand that the trooper speed? Who else could it be, if not the trooper? Obviously, other vehicles around the vehicle have some responsibility too, but aren't we all trained and charged to drive safely? I have a hard time seeing how driving 91 mph on the freeway doesn't significantly reduce the margin of error, and thereby decrease the safety of the situation.

It doesn't seem that the trooper will be blamed, after all... -------------------------------------------------------------- Corzine SUV clocked at 91 mph
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 (Bergen Record)
By ELISE YOUNG and JOHN P. McALPIN TRENTON BUREAU


Governor Corzine's SUV was traveling 91 mph, its emergency lights flashing, just before it slammed into a metal barrier on the Garden State Parkway, state police authorities said Tuesday.

It was the first official word on the speed of the black Chevrolet Suburban, five days after the wreck that critically injured the governor. The posted limit on that portion of the parkway in Galloway Township, in Atlantic County, is 65 mph.

"All investigative data point to a speed of approximately 91 mph five seconds before impact with the guide rail," according to a state police statement. "The vehicle's speed at the time of impact with the guard rail was approximately 30 mph."

The information came from the SUV's crash-data system, the so-called "black box" that continuously records and overwrites 5 seconds of material leading to a crash, or activates just before an airbag deploys.

Corzine remained in critical but stable condition Tuesday night at Cooper University Hospital in Camden. He had no signs of pneumonia and infection, two potentially life-threatening complications while he is treated for a broken left thighbone and multiple chest fractures, his staff said.

The governor, who has been heavily sedated, was relying less on his ventilator to breathe, according to his spokesman, Anthony Coley. He also was nodding his head to answer questions.

"The family is pleased with his progress," Coley said.

In a conference call with reporters, state police Superintendent Col. Joseph "Rick" Fuentes said a panel of experts will review the accident to determine whether it was preventable, a routine procedure when a state police vehicle is involved in a crash. A member of the state Ethics Commission will join the panel to ensure transparency, he said.

Attorney General Stuart Rabner also will review the travel practices of the state police executive protection unit, Fuentes said.

In the meantime, Fuentes said Corzine's driver, Trooper Robert Rasinski, was operating within guidelines for the governor's security detail, Fuentes said. But he also noted the State Police Motor Vehicle Accident and Vehicular Pursuit Board could reach a different conclusion.

Fuentes also said that troopers have discretion to exceed the speed limit.

"Basically what happens is you're traveling on an unsecured roadway," he said. "The governor tends to get a variety of threats during the year. ... We see the environment around the governor as sometimes having an inherent risk."
But he indicated that the governor's driver shouldn't routinely flout traffic regulations.

"If it's a non-emergency situation, we would ask them to obey the traffic laws and the speed laws in the interest of safety both to the occupants of their car and the public," Fuentes said.
Fuentes said he had seen Corzine in the SUV early Thursday at the funeral of FBI Special Agent Barry Lee Bush, and he was buckled in. But his staff has said that Corzine doesn't always use a seat belt, and Tuesday's report confirmed that he was not wearing one at the time of the accident.

Fuentes also said the governor did not order Rasinski to increase speed.

David Jones, president of the State Trooper Fraternal Association, said members of the security detail -- just like their counterparts in the Secret Service, State Department and Department of Justice -- "have a job and obligation not to be boxed in or have anybody in front of them."

"He did a heroic and amazing job," Jones said of Rasinski. "He turned that vehicle into that guardrail at his side in order to save the life of the governor, and that is not in dispute."

The accident occurred Thursday night, while Corzine was heading to Princeton from Atlantic City for a meeting with disgraced radio host Don Imus and the Rutgers women's basketball team, whom he had denigrated on the air.

Investigators have interviewed the drivers of two other vehicles that had some involvement.

Kenneth Potts Jr., 20, of Little Egg Harbor, was driving a red 1991 Ford F-150. John M. Carrino Jr. of Glenwood, Sussex County, was driving a white 2003 Dodge Ram pickup.

Potts told investigators that he saw the Corzine vehicle's lights and believed it was responding to an emergency. He steered toward the shoulder to get out of the way, continued onto the grass and overcorrected to get back onto the parkway.

Back in the right lane of the two-lane road, he cut off the Ram, which swerved into the left lane, clipping the right side of the governor's SUV.

"It was not a heavy impact, but enough to push [the Suburban] over," Fuentes said.

The collision caused Rasinski to lose control and "travel toward the center median," the state police release said. He then steered to the right, which caused the SUV to slide clockwise from the road, to the shoulder and onto the grass, the release said.

The vehicle struck a milepost and hit the end of the guide rail. The rail hit behind the front wheel and the pierced the vehicle's front end all the way to the front seat floorboard, state police said.

The SUV turned 180 degrees and came to a rest with its back end atop the rail. The driver's-side curtain airbag deployed, Fuentes said.

Corzine was "thrown within the vehicle," authorities said Tuesday. His left femur, or thighbone, broke in two places and cut through the skin, leaving a 15-centimeter gash. He also cut his head and fractured 12 ribs, his clavicle, sternum and a lower vertebra.

Rasinski, who was wearing a seat belt, suffered cuts to his head and an ankle injury, Fuentes said. He remains on medical leave, and must be cleared by a state police doctor to return to duty.
E-mail: younge@northjersey.com and mcalpin@northjersey.com --------------------


But, once again, I have to ask, was the Imus situation so important that Corzine had to be there to moderate?

[xoxoxoBruce]

The Gov's SUV got clipped in the rear just like you see the cops on TV trying to stop a fleeing vehicle but spinning it out. It then slide sideways and did not roll over, into the end of the guardrail. At 91 mph he was traveling about 12 mph faster than normal traffic.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

At 91 mph he was traveling about 12 mph faster than normal traffic.

You're saying that the average traffic speed on the Parkway is 79 MPH? That hasn't been my experience. I'd say the average is 70-75, with fast drivers going 80. The speed limit is 65 where the accident was.

If you are saying that they were traveling about 12 MPH faster than the fastest traffic on the road, then I agree with you. But I think they were going about 15-20 mph faster than the average traffic speed on that road.

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by duck_duck

What a disaster

Originally Posted by Ibram

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.

Originally Posted by rkzenrage

I am pretty sure it is a disaster for his family and loved ones... your post is callous and shows a true lack of compassion.

Originally Posted by Ibram

Note how I did say that it was bad, and that i qualified it by saying it was a disaster for him (and his driver but I was kinda half-kidding about that). Me stubbing my toe is a disaster too, to myself, especially if I was carrying something.
We're not on the same page here, I don't think. There're disasters and there're DISASTERS.

FOR GOD'S SAKE, people. The woman was being either compassionate or sarcastic. No big deal. No wonder everyone's in a wad these days.

pick pick pick

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

No wonder everyone's in a wad these days.

It's Bush's Fault! Dammit.

[tw]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

It's Bush's Fault! Dammit.

That's supposed to be funny?

[Shawnee123]

See what I mean? More wad-making.
















When did this place become so pathetic?