TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's driver could have prevented the crash that left Corzine severely injured, the state police superintendent said Thursday.
In a letter to the state attorney general, Col. Rick Fuentes said Robert Rasinski, a member of the Executive Protection Unit, was insufficiently alert to what was going on around him. Fuentes said he had ordered "appropriate disciplinary action" for the state trooper.
David Jones, president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association of New Jersey, told Gannett News Service that would be a suspension of no more than five days.
The governor's sport utility vehicle struck a guardrail on the Garden State Parkway in April after being sideswiped by a truck. In a statement, the governor said he had called Rasinski to thank him for his actions immediately after the crash.
"This has been a regrettable and painful experience for all involved, and no one is more aware of that than I," the governor said. "A lot of mistakes were made on April 12; chief among them was my failure to wear a seatbelt."
Copyright © 2007, by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
