More Details on Governor Corzine

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

It sounds just awful, but not life threatening or incapacitating:

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine underwent emergency surgery for a leg fracture on Thursday night, after he was seriously injured in a car accident on the Garden State Parkway.

Corzine also had a broken sternum, a broken collarbone, a slight fracture of the lower vertebrae and six broken ribs on each side, said Dr. Steven Ross, trauma director at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, where the governor was taken by helicopter after the crash in Galloway Township, near Atlantic City.

Corzine also had laceration on his head, but did not sustain any brain or spinal cord damage in the accident and his injuries were not considered life-threatening, Dr. Ross said.

<snip>

Bobby Juska of Forked River, who was on the scene when the accident happened, said Corzine's legs were hanging out of the window after the accident. He said, "The governor was screaming 'My leg! My leg!'"

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5204757

Best hopes for a speedy recovery.

[Sydnie]

1. Damn, that sounds really painful

Hoping for a speedy recovery though.

[aquart]

2. He was afraid he'd lost his leg, wasn't he?

This is all much more serious than the initial, calming reports. Not life threatening, my ass.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

3. My local NY station gave a blurb tonight about him being in critical condition before the actual

news programming. I went to the internet (as I had to watch TDS) and thank goodness they said that he was critical but stable and none of his injuries were life threatening.

My best wishes go to you Gov. Corzine, and sending healing thoughts your way.

[grasswire]

4. he doesn't wear a seat belt

I wonder if he will after this.

[Kingshakabobo]

10. Yep. It sounds like, out of all the passengers, he got the worst beating.

It sure sounds like he wasn't buckled-up.

[badgerpup]

5. This sounds majorly painful, to put it mildly...

...but didn't his SUV have airbags?
The article said the governor habitually didn't use a seatbelt, but I would have thought that an airbag would at least lessen some of the damage.

Broken ribs...ouch. Makes breathing REALLY fun...NOT!

Hope he's gonna be OK.

[ElizabethDC]

6. Wow, that sounds really rough

I wish him all the best.

[rasputin1952]

7. Surgery implies a compund Fx, where the bone breaks through the skin

All tolled, he is gonna be in a lot of pain, but I'm wondering about internal injuries. A Fx sternum would most likely lead to a pericarium/cardiac situation, add broken ribs and he's gonna have a tough time breathing as well...:(

Was he driving? I would think he'd be a passenger in a state vehicle...:shrug:

The injuries look like he was tossed forward in the rear of a car and he had to hit something pretty hard; or, he was driving w/o a seatbelt or airbags....:(

[madfloridian]

8. It was his motorcade....probably in the back seat.

That's terrible. How could a hit and run driver hit a motorcade?

[rasputin1952]

11. this was a hit and run!!!! Did they catch the guy/gal that set this

accident in motion?

This is really odd...:(

[no_hypocrisy]

20. Corzine was within a motorade with state troopers. How could a hit-and-run

escape on the Garden State Parkway DURING RUSH HOUR???? No witnesses, no license plate?

I'm not doing tinfoil, but that sounds suspicious.

[rasputin1952]

21. I'm not either...but that certainly does seem awfully odd...

A lot of strange circumstances there...Just wondering if the one driver saw an opportunity to "scare" him by doing something stupid, and it turned into a tragedy.

I just hope the Gov gets the proper pain control and heals quickly, and that they catch this guy and figure out why he would do something so incredibly stupid.

[ElizabethDC]

9. I think the article says he doesn't ususally wear a seatbelt

I think this underlines how important seatbelts are.

[Kool Kitty]

12. I'll say.

And a bit more from News 12-the police are looking for a red pick-up and a white SUV which were also involved in the accident. The anchor said that the red pick-up cut the white SUV off and the white SUV went into the lane that the gov was traveling on. The Gov's vehicle couldn't avoid the white SUV and lost control and went into the guardrail. Yikes.

[jbnow]

18. Only the red pick up drove off

The other vehicle stopped.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=5193567

A white Dodge Ram in the lane took evasive action and swerved into the path of Corzine's vehicle.

The state trooper driving the Chevrolet Tahoe carrying Corzine swerved to avoid the Dodge, avoided contact with other vehicles, but then crashed into the guard rail.

"It looks as if the trooper did a tremendous job doing what he could to maintain control of that vehicle," Fuentes said.

The red pickup fled the scene, but the white Dodge Ram did stop.

The governor's condition keeps sounding worse...but still that he'll recover.

Dr. Robert Ostrum said the surgery performed at Cooper University Hospital in Camden on Thursday night was a success, but noted that the governor will need two more operations on his leg in the coming days. Doctors also inserted a breathing tube due to the sternum and multiple rib injuries Corzine suffered in the crash.

Ostrum said the tube would remain "for days to weeks, until (Corzine) is able to breathe on his own again." However, Ostrum said the injuries were not considered life-threatening.
<snip>

The governor was moved to the hospital's trauma intensive care unit after the surgery and was listed in critical but stable condition early Friday. He was sedated and was receiving pain medication.

Ostrum said Corzine's femur broke through his skin and was broken in two places. A rod was inserted in the leg, and additional operations were scheduled to be performed on Saturday and Monday.

Ostrum said it would be at least three to six months before Corzine could walk normally

[rasputin1952]

22. Well, there's the compound Fx; but to break a femur in two places takes

a lot of force, they are lucky to be alive...O8)

[rasputin1952]

13. I saw that...in NJ, that is downright foolish! My son and I went back East

a couple of years ago, and Jersey drivers are as crazy as NY'ers! As soon we crossed the Delaware Water Gap, the whole road seemed to speed-up and people were changing lanes w/o signalling and slamming on brakes...it was quite interesting, to say the least...:)

[napi21]

15. Unfortunately drivers like thatdon't all live in NJ!

They'rethe same or worse in Atlanta!

I suspect they will find the 2 vehicles they're looking for. You can bet they've got a LOT of cops on this one!

ifeel very bad for the Gov. i had a broken ankle last year, and incapacitation is a bit*h! I couldn't do 90% of what I was used to doing, and all I had wasa broken ankle. I can't even imagine how bad it will be for him with all those broken bones! Such a sad story.

Best wishes Governor!

[rasputin1952]

17. Yeah, those guys are in for some serious trouble...

And there are some pretty lousy drivers out here in NE too!

I was born and grew up in NYC, but have been back rarely over the past 15 years. I hardly recognize the place anymore...and Long Island is built up like I never thought it could be, the North Fork used to be potato farms, now it is developments and wineries....

[FogerRox]

14. Corzine was in the front passenger seat

A state trooper was driving, in a Bronco.

[rasputin1952]

16. They must have been scooting...

No deaths from what I understand, which is good.

Jeez, he's gonna be hurting for 4-6 weeks, and might need some rehab if that was a compound Fx.

My best to him and the others , they are in my thoughts and prayers...O8)

[orleans]

19. damn! n/t