The Daily Background

Governor Jon Corzine (D-NJ) left the hospital today, just as Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) did the same. Corzine was seriously injured in an April 12th car accident when he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt and the vehicle he was being driven in crashed. Johnson had a brain hemorrhage on December 13th of last year, and has not been on the Senate floor since.

CNN reported earlier today that “Johnson will continue physical therapy in his Washington-area home as an out-patient of the National Rehabilitation Hospital, according to a statement released by Johnson’s Senate office.”

Johnson, who was first elected to the Senate in 1996, said in the statement: “It is wonderful to take this next step with family and friends… As I continue with my therapy, I also get more and more work from the office.”

Corzine, who spoke briefly to an assemblage of reporters but did not answer questions, said he knew he had “set a very poor example for a lot of young people, and people in general” by failing to wear his seatbelt, in violation of New Jersey state law. “I hope the state will forgive me,” he added, almost in tears. According to the New York Times, about 100 people were present and clapped for Corzine upon his release from the hospital.

Corzine, like Johnson, is expected to be confined to a wheelchair for some time. It is unclear which one of them will return to service first, although Senator Johnson’s rehabilitation is expected to last at least into the summer.

Johnson does not have a replacement in the Senate, however the President of the New Jersey State Senate, a fellow Democrat, is handling Corzine’s official duties. In a press release earlier this month, Johnson said doctors were pleased with the progress of his recovery and that he was “anxious to get back to traveling the state and visiting with South Dakotans.”

Corzine, who doctors say lost half the blood in his body in addition to breaking several bones and almost a dozen ribs, was guided into a van which had been modified to accomidate a wheelchair. Perhaps signalling that he expected to be confined to a wheelchair for some time, Corzine bought the van himself.

Filed under: Z-Feature