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: [EMAIL="younge@northjersey.com"]younge@northjersey.com[/EMAIL] and [EMAIL="mcalpin@northjersey.com"]mcalpin@northjersey.com[/EMAIL] --------------------
But, once again, I have to ask, was the Imus situation so important that Corzine had to be there to moderate?
