Driver in Corzine Crash Didn’t Know of Involvement

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The New York Sun

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – Surgery on Governor Corzine’s injured leg was successful Saturday, while state police said the driver blamed for the wreck that critically injured the governor told them he didn’t stop because he hadn’t realized he was involved.

“He hadn’t any inkling that he contributed to it,” New Jersey State Police Captain Al Della Fave said. “That alleviates him of the responsibility of remaining at the accident scene.”

State police did not release the driver’s identity because he was not charged.

However, authorities left the door open for charges to be filed later, saying the investigation was not yet complete. Investigators still want to speak with Mr. Corzine, who was recovering Saturday after a second successful surgery on his injured leg.

“Hopefully we’ll have a full, complete picture by the end of next week,” Captain Della Fave said.

Mr. Corzine was hurt Thursday when the SUV he was riding in was clipped by a vehicle that swerved to avoid a red pickup truck that officials said was being driven erratically. Mr. Corzine’s vehicle slammed into a guard rail along the Garden State Parkway in Galloway Township, near Atlantic City.

He was on his way to a meeting at his mansion in Princeton between radio show host Don Imus and the Rutgers women’s basketball team.

The 60-year-old governor, who was not wearing his seat belt in the front passenger’s seat, broke his leg, 12 ribs, his breastbone and suffered a broken collarbone. He also had a head laceration and a minor fracture on a lower vertebra.

The 20-year-old driver of the red truck was found Friday night at an Atlantic City casino where he works and interviewed by police. He was found using information from local police and leads generated from parkway surveillance cameras and toll information, police said.

He wasn’t charged with leaving the scene of an accident because he didn’t realize he was involved in the crash.

The driver of the truck picked it up Saturday afternoon at the New Jersey State Police station in Buena Vista. He did not talk to the media.

An official with knowledge of the investigation described the driver as a “special needs driver,” but said it was unclear if that contributed to the accident. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because that official was not authorized to discuss the matter.

State Police Superintendent Colonel Rick Fuentes said the driver confirmed that he had witnessed the accident, and voluntarily went with troopers to the Bass River State Police barracks for further questioning.

According to police, the man saw the flashing lights of the governor’s two-vehicle motorcade heading north on the parkway, and pulled his pickup truck off the road to make room for it. But he veered back onto the parkway to avoid a mile-marker post, causing a white pickup to swerve into Corzine’s SUV.

Although the driver of the red pickup caused the accident, police said, he wasn’t aware he contributed to it because his truck did not make contact with any other vehicles. In fact, the driver actually thought he avoided an accident, Captain Della Fave said.

“There’s nothing he did here criminally,” Captain Della Fave said. “He did what he felt was the best he could.”

Meanwhile, the governor remained hospitalized on Saturday after undergoing a second operation on his leg, which was broken in two places. He remained heavily sedated and unable to speak. A third surgery on his leg was scheduled for Monday.

A spokesman for Mr. Corzine declined to comment on the news that driver police believe caused the accident had been located.

___

Associated Press writer Beth DeFalco in Trenton contributed to this report.


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