Corzine, still critical, undergoes more surgery

N.J. governor has 2nd leg operation after crash; family says he’s responding

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N.J. governor on road to recovery
April 15: Despite the multiple injuries that Gov. John Corzine received in an automobile accident, he is recovering after surgery. NBC's Lisa Daniels has more.

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updated 1:56 p.m. ET April 15, 2007

CAMDEN, N.J. - Gov. Jon S. Corzine on Monday underwent a second operation on the leg he broke in a highway crash that left him in critical condition.

The surgery at Cooper University Hospital, performed to clean out the 6-inch wound created when his left femur broke, was “uneventful,” said Andrew Poag, a spokesman for the governor.

Corzine remained in critical but stable condition. He also broke 12 ribs, his collarbone and chest bone and suffered some other, more minor injuries in Thursday’s accident.

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Physicians also operated to clean the leg wound on Saturday, and on Sunday he underwent a brief procedure to remove fluid that had collected outside his left lung.

Previously, doctors said they would evaluate after the surgery whether Corzine would be strong enough to breathe without a ventilator that was put in shortly after the accident.

Corzine, 60, was injured when the sport utility vehicle he was riding in crashed on the Garden State Parkway just north of Atlantic City.

The SUV, which was being driven by a state trooper, was hit by another vehicle that swerved to avoid a pickup truck, sending the governor’s vehicle skidding into a guardrail.

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.

The governor apparently was not wearing his seat belt as he rode in the front passenger’s seat.

‘He can recognize your voice’
Corzine’s relatives said he recognized them and responded to visitors when they saw him Sunday.

“When you talk to him, he can recognize your voice, that’s my feeling,” said Joshua Corzine, 30, the eldest of Corzine’s two sons. “He definitely responds when you let him know who you are.”

The governor’s children and 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,” said the governor’s sister, Jennifer Corzine-Pisani.