Corzine's SUV went 91 mph, police say
By PETE McALEER Statehouse Bureau, (609) 292-4935
Published: Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Graphic View of Accident

TRENTON — Gov. Jon S. Corzine's SUV was speeding at 91 mph with its emergency lights flashing in the seconds before last week's rush-hour crash on the Garden State Parkway, according to a State Police report released Tuesday.
The report essentially exonerates Kenneth Potts, of Little Egg Harbor Township, the 20-year-old driver of a red Ford pickup truck that had been blamed for the accident. Potts pulled onto the shoulder of the road to make way for the governor's two-car motorcade, then steered back into the right lane to avoid a mile marker on the side of the road, according to the report. Potts' sudden move prompted the driver of a white Dodge Ram pickup truck — which had moved to the right lane in deference to the motorcade — to hit the front of Corzine's Chevrolet Suburban, the report said.

State Police officials said the motorcade's speed may have been necessary to keep Corzine's vehicle from getting too close to other vehicles.

David Jones, president of the State Trooper Fraternal Association, said, “That's part of the mission. There's no wrongdoing by going 91. If anyone's going 90 in order not to be overtaken or parallel with another vehicle, that's well within the standard practice. We've employed this practice for over 80 years and we've never had a governor hurt.”




No summonses were issued to Potts or the driver of the white Dodge Ram, John M. Carrino Jr., of Vernon Township, Sussex County.
“This was a series of events that we didn't believe attributed fault to either one of those other drivers,” State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes said during a media teleconference Tuesday. “They became witnesses to this accident and that's the way we treated them. Their movement was in reaction to the motorcade which was approaching.”

On the night of the accident, April 12, Fuentes said the accident had been caused by a red pickup truck that had been driving erratically and failed to stop after the crash. Police interviewed Potts on Saturday night and he told investigators he left the scene because he believed he had avoided an accident, not caused one.

Asked about the discrepancies between the original description of the accident and Tuesday's report, Fuentes said he thought it was important to give the media whatever information he had at the time.

“I think I was very cautious in saying this was very preliminary information, so don't be surprised if this changes,” Fuentes said. “To give you a case in point, I said (the governor's vehicle) was a Tahoe and it turned out to be a Suburban.”

The state Police Motor Vehicle Accident and Vehicular Pursuit Review Board will meet to review the accident report and determine whether it was preventable. If it was, the board may recommend training or disciplinary action for the driver. Upon Fuentes' request, Attorney General Stuart Rabner appointed an additional participant — Kathleen Wiechnik, of the state Ethics Commission. Fuentes also asked Rabner to review the practices of the Executive Protection Unit, which serves as drivers for state officials.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office has not reviewed the accident. “It's a State Police investigation and we're not involved at this time,” spokeswoman Janet Niedosik said.

The State Police report confirmed that Corzine, and an aide sitting in the back seat, Samantha Gordon, were not wearing seat belts at the time of the accident. The governor's driver, state Trooper Robert Rasinski, was buckled up. Tom Shea, Corzine's chief of staff, said last week that if the governor was not wearing a seat belt, he should be given a summons.

New Jersey traffic laws require all front-seat occupants to wear a seat belt. Drivers are responsible for front-seat occupants under the age of 18.

The speed of Corzine's SUV was determined through a Crash Data Retrieval System, or a “black box,” stored inside the Suburban. The speed limit on the Garden State Parkway is 65 mph.

At the time of the accident, Corzine was leaving an event in Atlantic City and headed to a private meeting at the governor's mansion in Princeton with fired radio talk-show host Don Imus and the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Fuentes said there were no discussions between Corzine and the trooper about speed.

According to the report, Rasinski lost control of the SUV after it was struck by the Dodge Ram. The SUV then slid clockwise toward the shoulder of the road, eventually striking a guardrail on the driver's side at a speed of 30 mph. The guardrail cut through the front seat floorboard as Corzine's SUV rotated 180 degrees before resting on top of the guardrail, the report said.

The crash threw Corzine toward the back of the car. The governor suffered 11 broken ribs, fractured his sternum and collarbone and broke his femur in two places. He was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital, where he remained in critical but stable condition Tuesday.

The governor's spokesman, Anthony Coley, issued a statement Tuesday that said Corzine's family remains grateful for the way Rasinski handled the SUV during the accident.

“The family understands there will be further review of this matter by a board of State Police experts and others,” Coley said. “It is important that we get a complete picture of what happened that day, not simply to help bring a measure of closure but to ensure that the right lessons are learned to avoid similar accidents in the future. 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.”

During the afternoon teleconference, Fuentes said troopers are asked to obey traffic and speed laws during non-emergency situations, but he said there are other reasons to go above the speed limit. State troopers assigned to the governor's motorcade are trained not to stop in traffic and to move through traffic for security reasons.

“Speed is always a contributing factor in any accident,” Fuentes said. “But we need to put speed in the context of whether there was a reason to be going that fast at the time. ... We see the environment around the governor as having some inherent risks.”

Jones, of the State Trooper Fraternal Association, questioned whether the black box was a reliable indicator of speed, but he said Rasinski's job is to keep other cars from driving alongside the governor.

Jones said Rasinski intentionally steered the driver's side of the SUV into the guardrail so that he and not the governor would take the brunt of the crash.

“That's heroic,” Jones said. “He put himself in harm's way, the same as taking a bullet for the governor — and we're going to start getting into a blame game for a procedure that has been going on forever?”

To e-mail Pete McAleer at The Press:

[email protected]

www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/7413418p-7308562c.html

Going to step out on a limb here:
First off, there are a dozen or more LEO's living and working in/around the small community we live in. I personally know and have associated with most of them either personally or professionally (NEVER criminally), these are all good folks with good intentions, However there are times when being "on a mission" or headed to an emergency, and certainly sometimes just the arrogance of being in a position of authority where almost certainly no one is going to say or do schitt, causes these otherwise good folks to do things that would have everyone else under severe scrutiny, ultiamtly leading to citations or incarceration.

I have broken the speed limit while responding to EMS calls as well as transporting patients and crew to emergency centers, but never at speeds above 75. Driving certain vehicles at very high speeds feels safe and is acceptable in certain places (I-75 in Florida) but a high profile, public official, in convoy, operating at that speed just smacks of arrogance and is in-excuseable.

The "other" drivers won't be cited becasue they proabably were not only not a fault, but the media coverage of the certain trial would make the NJSP and the Govonors Office look like the corrupt ass-holes they certainly are.  

Quoted: Quoted: Going to step out on a limb here: Driving certain vehicles at very high speeds feels safe and is acceptable in certain places (I-75 in Florida) but a high profile, public official, in convoy, operating at that speed just smacks of arrogance and is in-excuseable. I am going to go on a limb too, and say that there was no reason/need to be driving the governor -or anyone else- at 91 MPH during heavy traffic, so the Gov can meet with Imus and the BB team It is crap like this that makes the regular citizen lose faith in the credibility of the people in charge of enforcing the laws

This is NJ were are talking about Ed. We've lost the faith and credibility in our politicans in the '60's. Not likely to ever get it back either.

Quoted: Quoted: This is NJ were are talking about Ed. We've lost the faith and credibility in our politicians in the '60's. Not likely to ever get it back either. NY is not far from what you have in NJ. Maybe the geographic proximity, makes for similar demographics. IOW, we got the same type of liberal morons living in both states, thus similar political types elected to office

That explains why the HomeTown NY/NJ was grouped together

Just heard on the news this morning that the NJSP are considering whether to charge the Trooper who was driving Corzine. Not Corzine with anything however.

Quoted: Just heard on the news this morning that the NJSP are considering whether to charge the Trooper who was driving Corzine. Not Corzine with anything however.

Somebody has to be blamed.  

Quoted: ...there are other reasons to go above the speed limit. State troopers assigned to the governor's motorcade are trained not to stop in traffic and to move through traffic for security reasons. “Speed is always a contributing factor in any accident,” Fuentes said. “But we need to put speed in the context of whether there was a reason to be going that fast at the time. ... We see the environment around the governor as having some inherent risks.”

I heard this on WCBS 880 as well.  As they said, when "dignitaries" travel, security does not like having them stuck in traffic.  Hell, if it is so d**m dangerous for them to travel then maybe they should be prohibited from traveling at all.  Instead all parties needing to conduct business with the governor should report to him at his "palace" rather than the other way around.  That way he doesn't have to mingle with us peasants in our dangerous environment and we would not be additionally threatened by speeding caravans traveling our highways at 91MPH during rush hour.

Don't forget that Corzine thinks it is okay for the Isreali's to be armed and defend themselves, but not  the people in his home state.

Nothing new in NJ politics, but the names and dates...same old, same old. I'm beyond surprised at this point and just a little more cynical then the week before. I can't stand this Cock-Suk'r...oops that was the last gay guy. Corzine just sucks harder, but  uses 100 bills to rinse the taste out of his mouth.  Uggh, don't get me started.