CAMDEN, N.J. — Governor Corzine’s eldest son said his father recognized him and responded to visitors yesterday, three days after an SUV crash left him on a ventilator with a dozen broken ribs and a severely fractured leg.

“When you talk to him, he can recognize your voice, that’s my feeling,” the eldest of two sons, Joshua Corzine, said. “He definitely responds when you let him know who you are.”

Joshua Corzine, 30, who spoke to reporters at the hospital along with his sister Jennifer Corzine-Pisani, 36, and brother Jeffrey, 24, also thanked the medical staff for the care they’ve given Corzine and thanked well-wishers from across the country. The governor’s three children — who were at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, along with his girlfriend, Sharon Elghanayan — said they were feeling positive about his condition.

“We’re giving him the thumbs up right now, so we’re really feeling good about what’s happening,” Ms. Corzine-Pisani said.

The governor, who remains in critical condition, underwent a procedure to remove fluid that had collected outside his left lung. The procedure, which lasted less than 15 minutes, is common for patients who sustain a number of rib fractures and doctors said it was successful, a Corzine spokesman, Anthony Coley, said.

Mr. Corzine was injured Thursday when his SUV crashed on the Garden State Parkway, after his vehicle was hit by another vehicle that swerved to avoid a pickup truck, sending the governor’s SUV into a guard rail.

The 60-year-old governor, who was apparently 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 governor has already undergone two surgeries on his badly broken leg and a third is expected today.

Corzine’s children also thanked the medical staff for the care they’ve given to their father, and thanked well-wishers from across the country.

The governor’s staff said well wishes have poured in from around the country, including from President Bush, Senator Clinton and nearly two dozen governors. The ambassadors of China and Japan, where Corzine visited last May on a trade mission, also sent get-well messages.

The Senate president, Richard Codey, who is acting governor as Corzine recovers, said he would not promote his own agenda while Mr. Corzine recovers. New Jersey does not have a lieutenant governor.

“One of the tough things here is I don’t know how long it’s going to be,” Mr. Codey told The Record of Bergen County.

The accident comes as Mr. Corzine’s administration was heading into its second budget battle with the Legislature, pushing a $33 billion budget that included big property tax rebates.

He also has plans to shore up the pension system and to raise money for the state by selling state assets like the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway. The crash occurred on the latter highway in Galloway Township, just north of Atlantic City in Atlantic County.

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