They've got him sedated and on a ventilator to assist with breathing which is understandable considering all the damage to his chest. He's going to be in a ton of pain for weeks to come.
Doctors say he's lucky to be alive.
Corzine faces several more operations to fix the compound fracture to his leg.
Ostrum said a rod was inserted in Corzine's leg, and additional operations were scheduled for Saturday and Monday. The injuries were not considered life-threatening, but it would be at least three to six months before Corzine could walk normally, he said.Former Governor and State Senator Richard Codey is acting governor for New Jersey until Gov. Corzine is able to resume his duties. Codey has been in this position before - assuming the role of governor when Jim McGreevey was forced to step down over the hiring scandal of Golan Cipel.
''He's got a pretty significant rehab in front of him,'' Ostrum said.
UPDATE:
There is some question as to whether Corzine was wearing a seatbelt in the SUV.
Sources tells WNBC.com that Corzine, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the SUV, was not wearing a seat belt; the state police could not confirm that, but Corzine typically did not wear seat belts. A volunteer EMT who happened to be near by said that Corzine was moaning when he saw him: James Freund told the NY Times, "It looked like the car made a direct impact on the left guard rail and kind of hopped over it.” Another witness told the Daily News that Corzine's legs were "hanging out the window" and that Corzine was screaming, "My leg! My leg!"UPDATE:
According to the latest presser at the hospital, the answer is that he wasn't. The situation appears to be more serious than they were letting on last night and that Corzine may be wheelchair bound for at least the next six months while he recovers.
Corzine is in critical but stable condition, with more than a dozen broken bones -- including 12 ribs and a femur protruding through the skin of his thigh. A doctor said he is heavily sedated and lucky to be alive.That last part is due to the fact that he's on a breathing tube to assist with breathing due to the numerous broken ribs and sternum that would make it extremely painful to breath on his own.
Hospital sources who did not want to be named say Corzine is in worse condition than is publicly acknowledged, and that he's likely to be in a wheelchair for at least six months.
At the press conference, Dr. Steven Ross, head of the trauma unit at at Cooper, said Corzine is unable to speak.
Others covering Corzine's accident and recovery: Rhymes with Right, The New Editor, Washington Wire (who notes that Corzine wasn't wearing his seatbelt when the accident occurred), Enlighten NJ (who notes that Corzine is lucky to be alive), Blue Crab Boulevard, Outside the Beltway, Fausta, and Blue Jersey.
Parenthetical Remarks notes that Corzine is the third elected New Jersey governor in a row to break their leg in an accident (Whitman broke her leg while skiing, and McGreevey broke his while taking a nighttime walk on a beach).
UPDATE:
Trackposted to Perri Nelson's Website, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Is It Just Me?, Adam's Blog, Maggie's Notebook, basil's blog, Stuck On Stupid, Cao's Blog, The Bullwinkle Blog, , Conservative Cat, Jo's Cafe, Pursuing Holiness, Rightlinx, Allie Is Wired, Faultline USA, third world county, stikNstein... has no mercy, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, , The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate's Cove, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, Gone Hollywood, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
UPDATE:
Corzine was in a 2-car caravan and the second vehicle, with two state troopers on board, stopped to provide assistance to Gov. Corzine and the other occupants rather than give chase to the red pickup truck that did not stop after causing the sequence of events leading to the crash.
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