Report: Corzine speeding after leaving hospital

The motorcade shepherding Gov. Corzine home from Cooper University Medical Center yesterday was speeding as it traveled Route 295, the New York Times reports today.

On April 12, the governor was riding without a seatbelt in a Chevy Suburban doing 91 miles per hour when it crashed, resulting in his helicopter evacuation and hospitalization for fractures to his sternum, collarbone, left thigh and 11 ribs.

While Corzine was in intensive care, doctors used a ventilator to help him breathe.

Yesterday, the governor was driven to Drumthwacket, the governor's mansion in Princeton, in a van modified to accommodate his wheelchair.

The motorcade at times exceeded the speed limit by as much as 15 miles per hour, the Times reported:

"The governor's motorcade moved with the flow of traffic on Interstate 295, at some points sustaining speeds up to 70 miles per hour several minutes at a time, according to the speedometer of a vehicle traveling alongside; posted limits were 55 and 65."

The Newark Star-Ledger's account, however, added some context about traffic flow: "The convoy's speed occasionally crept up near 70 mph on I-295, but even then the flow of traffic was briskly moving past the entourage as it occupied the far left lane."

Earlier, while sitting in his wheelchair outside Cooper, his son and daughter at his side, Corzine said:

"I understand that I set a very poor example for a lot of young people, a lot of people in general. I certainly hope the state will forgive me. I will work very hard to set the right kind of example."

Troopers doing the driving were told to observe speed limits, a state police spokesperson told the Times, declining to name the governor's driver or set up interviews with trooper-drivers.