Corzine begins to respond
Family members said the critically injured N.J. governor could recognize them. More details are emerging about the circumstances of his accident.
Gov. Corzine's children said yesterday they were pleased with the progress made by their father, who underwent his third operation since being seriously injured in a car wreck Thursday.
"We're giving him a thumbs-up," said Jennifer Corzine-Pisani, 36, flanked by her two brothers at Cooper University Medical Center in Camden, where Corzine remained on a ventilator in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit.
"Things are going well," seconded Jeffrey Corzine, 24.
Joshua Corzine, 30, said the family was "really encouraged by what's going on."
"When you talk to him, he can recognize your voice," he said, adding "he definitely responds when you let him know who you are," mostly through gestures.
"Everyone is in good spirits, just trying to get through this tough time," Joshua Corzine said.
Earlier in the day, Corzine had what spokesman Anthony Coley described as a "routine procedure to remove fluid that had collected outside his left lung."
Coley said the surgery, which he said lasted less than 15 minutes, was successful.
He said the fluid accumulation was common in patients with multiple rib fractures, which Corzine suffered along with a broken sternum, a broken collarbone, and a broken left leg.
The governor is scheduled to undergo another round of surgery today to further clean out the wound caused by the break in his femur, Coley said.
After that operation, doctors are expected to determine whether Corzine's breathing tube can be removed.
Joshua Corzine described his father's medical care, as well as the outpouring of support from friends, colleagues and the public, as "unbelievable."
Only a select few have been allowed to see the governor, who hospital officials said was in a private room at the end of the intensive care unit, under 24-hour guard.
Yesterday, he was surrounded by family, including his older brother, Allen, who had traveled from Illinois. Corzine's girlfriend, 61-year-old Sharon Elghanayan, also was there, plus "a handful of close friends," Coley said.
"A lot of people want to see him but the doctors don't think that's advisable. He needs to get as much rest as possible," Coley said.
Hospital officials said those closest to the governor were allowed in his room, "as long as nothing is going on" in the ICU. When they weren't by his bedside, Coley and hospital officials said, they were in waiting rooms and conference rooms down the hall and downstairs.
Much of the family's waiting time was spent answering phone calls.
"When we say they're overwhelmed, they're overwhelmed," Coley said.
Coley said more information about the governor's condition would be released at a news conference with hospital officials after today's surgery. But he estimated Senate President Richard J. Codey would fill in as acting governor for "at least a week."
Some doctors say that given the extent of Corzine's injuries and the pain medications he's on, it will be a few weeks longer before he is in governing mode again.
Cooper doctors have said the governor is lucky to be alive after the SUV he was riding in - apparently without wearing a seat belt - crashed into a guardrail on the Garden State Parkway Thursday.
When the crash happened in Galloway Township, Corzine was on his way from Atlantic City to Drumthwacket, the governor's official residence in Princeton, to mediate a meeting between radio host Don Imus and the Rutgers women's basketball team Imus had publicly insulted. State police said the governor's two-vehicle motorcade was traveling north in the left lane of the parkway with its emergency lights flashing. They said the driver of a red pickup truck ahead of the convoy pulled onto the shoulder to get out of the way.
State police said the pickup driver then accidentally steered partway back into the right lane, into the path of a white pickup. Trying to avoid a crash, state police said, the driver of the white pickup swerved left - and smashed into the governor's SUV, which then hit the guardrail.
State police said they had not charged the driver of the red pickup, a 20-year-old casino worker from Atlantic County who told police he did not know he had caused an accident when he left the scene.
They said Saturday they would not release the driver's name because he has not been charged.
Yesterday, they said charges had not been ruled out.
Asked whether it was routine for the governor's motorcade to be traveling with its emergency lights flashing, Capt. Al Della Fave, a state police spokesman, said "it's not unusual."
"In moments when he has a tight schedule, and has to get from one place to another quickly, no it's not unusual," he said.
He noted the governor had "a very aggressive schedule" that day and originally was supposed to fly between appointments. At the last minute, though, weather conditions forced him to drive.
Asked how fast the trooper chauffeuring Corzine was driving, Della Fave said, "We have no information on speed."
Right after the accident on Thursday, Col. Joseph R. "Rick" Fuentes, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said speed did not appear to be a factor.
State police said all questions would be answered once accident investigators finished their work.
"At that time," said another spokesman, Sgt. Steve Jones, "we'll be able to come out with a complete summary of this accident."