Accident Reconstruction Network > News > April 2006

Accident Reconstruction News Article

Corzine SUV Was Going 91 Miles Per Hour Before Crash
By: Terrence Dopp

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine's sport utility vehicle was traveling 91 miles per hour (146 kilometers per hour) in a 65-mph zone seconds before the car wreck last week that left him critically injured, state police said in a statement.

The SUV, driven by a state trooper, was heading north with its emergency lights on in an effort to clear traffic ahead of it on the Garden State Parkway, the statement said. Two pickup trucks pulled out of the way. Then the first pickup driver, trying to avoid the second one, swerved into the governor's SUV and struck its right front. The SUV, out of control, hit the end of a guard rail at 30 mph, according to the statement.

``Speed is always a contributing factor with any accident,'' State Police Superintendent Colonel Rick Fuentes said in a conference call following release of the report.

The trooper had the discretion to drive above the speed limit with the flashing lights for security reasons, Fuentes said. A state police accident review board will determine whether the accident was preventable and decide if disciplinary action or a change in training procedures is warranted, he said.

Corzine, 60, ``remains in critical but stable condition'' at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, the governor's spokesman, Anthony Coley, said in a 6 p.m. statement. There were no signs of complications, and ``he is showing improvement from a respiratory perspective,'' Coley said. Doctors said earlier they hope to wean him from a ventilator.

Semi-Conscious

Dr. Robert Ostrum, the trauma surgeon who has operated three times on Corzine's shattered left leg, said this morning that Corzine will begin receiving less of the pain medication and sedatives that have kept him semi-conscious since he was brought to the hospital.

Corzine's accident occurred as his motorcade of two Chevrolet Suburbans was en route from Atlantic City to the governor's mansion in Princeton April 12 to host a private meeting between fired broadcast personality Don Imus and the Rutgers University women's basketball team.

Corzine, who wasn't wearing his seat belt, was thrown from the front seat to the back when the crash occurred about 5:30 p.m.

As the motorcade, traveling in the left lane, approached two pickup trucks, the first, a 1991 red Ford F150 pickup driven by Kenneth Potts, 20, of Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, moved to the right shoulder. A white 2003 Dodge Ram pickup driven by John M. Carrino Jr. moved to the right lane, just behind Potts's vehicle.

Avoided Milepost

Potts then moved left, back into the right lane, to avoid hitting a milepost on the shoulder. That led Carrino take evasive action to his left, and the left rear of his pickup truck hit the right front of the governor's SUV.

The impact caused Trooper Robert Rasinski to lose control of the SUV. As he tried to regain control, the Suburban spun from the roadway and shoulder onto the median's grass berm, where it struck a milepost marker and hit the end of guard rail. The rail penetrated the front-seat floorboard of the SUV, which spun another 180 degree before coming to a rest.

Fuentes said it's not known whether the governor had been hit by the guardrail before he was thrown into the back seat. The only airbag to deploy was on the driver's side, he said.

The findings were based on witness interviews, examination of tire tracks, damage assessments and the Crash Data Retrieval System, or black box, state police said. The recorders offer investigators a five-second snapshot of the vehicle's travel leading up to the crash, State police spokesman Captain Al Della Fave said. The 91 mph speed was recorded five seconds before the car hit the guardrail, according to the statement.

Based on preliminary findings, state police don't intend to issue any citations to the other drivers, Fuentes said.

Multiple Injuries

Corzine, 60, broke his left thigh bone in two places and fractured 12 ribs, his sternum and collarbone in the crash, Ross said. He was put on a ventilator because of chest trauma.

A Corzine aide in the car, Samantha Gordon, and Rasinski suffered minor injuries. Rasinski is currently on medical leave, Fuentes said.

Coley said in an e-mailed statement that the governor's family and administration are aware of the report and applaud Rasinski's attempts to try to regain control of the SUV.

``It is important we get a complete picture of what happened that day, not simply to bring a measure of closure, but to ensure that the right lessons are learned to avoid similar accidents in the future,'' Coley said. ``The Corzine administration believes this should not be about assigning blame or pointing fingers, but simply about getting a more thorough understanding of the circumstances surrounding this accident.''

The state police accident review board, which examines all accidents involving its vehicles, will be joined by Kathleen Wiechnik of the state Ethics Commission ``to ensure transparency and accountability,'' Fuentes said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Terrence Dopp in Trenton, New Jersey, at tdopp@bloomberg.net .

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