Post by TNT on Jul 20, 2007 7:50:45 GMT -5
DID HE SLIP OR WAS HE HIT?
Authorities investigate Kenny's fall
Friday, July 20, 2007
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
Doctors have told investigators that the injuries suffered by state Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny, D-Hoboken, are not consistent with a slip and fall, as he told police, authorities said yesterday.
The news intensified an ongoing investigation into the incident that left Kenny, 60, "heavily sedated" in the Jersey City Medical Center's Intensive Care Unit with multiple injuries, including a broken right fibula, four fractures in his pelvis, a fractured nose and a dislocated right shoulder.
Long-time Kenny family friend Michael Hayden said: "Sen. Kenny's injuries are orthopedic in nature and he anticipates surgery in the next week and a full recovery."
Hoboken police received several 911 calls shortly after 6:50 a.m. Wednesday morning from residents who reported a man lying between two parked cars on the 800 block of Bloomfield Street.
Police arrived and found Kenny sitting on a curb, bleeding from his forehead and knee. Kenny told officers that he tripped in a pothole during his morning jog, a statement that still serves as the leading rationale for the incident, law enforcement sources said.
"The doctors say the injuries are inconsistent with the fall, so, at this point, we are not dismissing the possibility that it was a hit and run," said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio, who also said Kenny was dressed appropriately for a morning walk or jog.
Hoboken police emphasized yesterday that they have yet to - or may never - conclude that Kenny was involved in a hit and run, adding that the most concrete evidence they have is the politician's statement at the scene.
"Right now, we have no reason to believe it's anything other than what (Kenny) said it was," said Hoboken Police Capt. Anthony Falco.
Kenny, who has yet to speak to investigators, has told doctors and family members that he can't recall anything from the incident other than it was raining, law enforcement sources said.
"The lack of recollection is consistent with a traumatic event, and doctors tell us that he should begin to remember something soon. We hope to interview him as early as tomorrow," the police source said.
The news prompted Hoboken police officers to canvass the homes in and around the 800 block of Bloomfield Street Wednesday asking residents whether they heard or saw anything that might provide clues, according to police.
"Some say they heard a screeching sound and a thump," a police source said. "Others say they saw (Kenny) crawling in the street."
Hoboken police also stopped cars yesterday morning near the scene of the accident and asked them if they saw anything. The questions did not prove fruitful, police said.
In addition, law enforcement sources are expecting lab results back as early as today on the "sweatpants" Kenny was wearing at the time of the accident, that may shed some light on the events.
Kenny's law partner, Ed Florio, said yesterday that "Kenny's family's biggest concern right now is his health and we don't know when he's going to be appropriately recovered to speak to police."
The New Jersey State Police are prepared to join the investigation if necessary. Law enforcement sources say they are awaiting for local law enforcement officials to determine whether they believe the injuries were sustained as a result of a hit-and-run collision.
Newhouse News Service contributed to this report.
Authorities investigate Kenny's fall
Friday, July 20, 2007
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
Doctors have told investigators that the injuries suffered by state Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny, D-Hoboken, are not consistent with a slip and fall, as he told police, authorities said yesterday.
The news intensified an ongoing investigation into the incident that left Kenny, 60, "heavily sedated" in the Jersey City Medical Center's Intensive Care Unit with multiple injuries, including a broken right fibula, four fractures in his pelvis, a fractured nose and a dislocated right shoulder.
Long-time Kenny family friend Michael Hayden said: "Sen. Kenny's injuries are orthopedic in nature and he anticipates surgery in the next week and a full recovery."
Hoboken police received several 911 calls shortly after 6:50 a.m. Wednesday morning from residents who reported a man lying between two parked cars on the 800 block of Bloomfield Street.
Police arrived and found Kenny sitting on a curb, bleeding from his forehead and knee. Kenny told officers that he tripped in a pothole during his morning jog, a statement that still serves as the leading rationale for the incident, law enforcement sources said.
"The doctors say the injuries are inconsistent with the fall, so, at this point, we are not dismissing the possibility that it was a hit and run," said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio, who also said Kenny was dressed appropriately for a morning walk or jog.
Hoboken police emphasized yesterday that they have yet to - or may never - conclude that Kenny was involved in a hit and run, adding that the most concrete evidence they have is the politician's statement at the scene.
"Right now, we have no reason to believe it's anything other than what (Kenny) said it was," said Hoboken Police Capt. Anthony Falco.
Kenny, who has yet to speak to investigators, has told doctors and family members that he can't recall anything from the incident other than it was raining, law enforcement sources said.
"The lack of recollection is consistent with a traumatic event, and doctors tell us that he should begin to remember something soon. We hope to interview him as early as tomorrow," the police source said.
The news prompted Hoboken police officers to canvass the homes in and around the 800 block of Bloomfield Street Wednesday asking residents whether they heard or saw anything that might provide clues, according to police.
"Some say they heard a screeching sound and a thump," a police source said. "Others say they saw (Kenny) crawling in the street."
Hoboken police also stopped cars yesterday morning near the scene of the accident and asked them if they saw anything. The questions did not prove fruitful, police said.
In addition, law enforcement sources are expecting lab results back as early as today on the "sweatpants" Kenny was wearing at the time of the accident, that may shed some light on the events.
Kenny's law partner, Ed Florio, said yesterday that "Kenny's family's biggest concern right now is his health and we don't know when he's going to be appropriately recovered to speak to police."
The New Jersey State Police are prepared to join the investigation if necessary. Law enforcement sources say they are awaiting for local law enforcement officials to determine whether they believe the injuries were sustained as a result of a hit-and-run collision.
Newhouse News Service contributed to this report.