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Ensconced at the NJ Governor's Mansion, Drumthwacket, Governor Jon Corzine started to give extensive interviews with the media yesterday. He told the Star-Ledger how a state trooper who responded to his April 12 accident jumped on top of him to shield him from the burning SUV as other responders were trying to put out the fire. Corzine said, "Jimmy Ryan is a hero of unbelievable proportions." Ryan downplayed incident, saying, "That's what our unit does. That's what we're there for. It was a total team effort. We're all concerned about the governor's safety and it was a team effort."
As for riding without a seatbelt while his car was speeding? Here's what Corzine told the Star-Ledger:
"It's thoughtless and I hold myself accountable. ... I also hope I can help other people recognize that the thoughtlessness can lead to real implications," he said. "I didn't grow up with it (wearing a seat belt), so I just don't think about it as the first thing that I do. Actually Sam (Samantha Gordon, an aide who travels with the governor and was also injured in the crash) reminded me most of the time to put the thing on."He emphasized to the Star-Ledger as well as the AP that he was lucky to be alive, because he did think he was dying. And even more so that his broken leg (which broke through his skin), Corzine was worried he was having a heart attack or something similar.Corzine said he was oblivious to everything going on in the SUV before the accident, even the flashers and the speedometer rolling to 91 mph.
"I'll tell you what I've said and I'll say over again: I trust [the troopers]. I was doing my paperwork. I know what I was doing. I can almost -- with 95 percent certainty -- say [his driver, State Trooper] Rob (Rasinski) was doing what he was supposed to be doing."
While sitting in the backyard, he said, "I just couldn't feel more gratitude about the chance to be alive. It's great to see the sun. It's great to sit here." Well, Corzine certainly looks pretty good for someone who has broken practically all his ribs, sternum, vertebra and his left leg and lost half his blood. But, as he returns to work tomorrow, he does have a lot ahead, including dealing with NJ's $2 billion budget deficit.
Photographs by Mel Evans/AP
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Well Duh, You dumb ass ! I thought it was "Nice" of him to pay the ticket for not wearing his seat belt and all . To bad it's a political move .
If "doing one's job" is putting the lives of others at risk by speeding when (according to what I have read) no need to drive so fast was present.
Glad he's doing okay, hope positive things can come out of it.
why the hell did he need to be at the silly meeting between imus and the basketball players anyway?
Why is he responsible for an accident his driver caused? (I've zoned out in a car service lots of times and looked up only to notice that I was at my destination way too fast for the driver to have been doing the speed limit.)
Why is everyone harping on him not wearing a seatbelt? (How many people in the back of a cab or a car service put theirs on?)
It all seems like mean spirited bull to me. I just don't get it.
I have yet to hear Corzine utter the word "seatbelt". He said "it" and you added "seatbelt". Before he said "I set a bad example" and the editors added "he meant seatbelt". All the stories are like that. The fact is that he must have been wearing a seatbelt because that is the only way he could have sustained the injuries which he sustained. Millions of dollars in federal grants are at stake, not to mention a lot of face. That is why they keep harping on seatbelts. You can find out all about it by visiting www.safetychoice.org