CAMDEN, N.J. -- New Jersey State Police found the driver of the red Ford pickup truck that may have caused the crash of Gov. Jon S. Corzine's SUV.

That 20-year-old man was free to drive his truck and go Saturday afternoon. He faces no charges in the wreck that state police were calling an accident, based on preliminary investigation.

And NewsChannel 4 has learned from witnesses that Corzine was thrown much farther in his state police Chevrolet Suburban than first reports indicated.

Instead of ending up in the back seat, the governor was thrown into the rear cargo section. One ER doctor tells WNBC.com's Brian Thompson it sounds like his body became a "human projectile," which would have increased the injuries he received.

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Corzine Critical, But Stable

Images From Crash

Video: Children Say Corzine's 'A Fighter'

Police sources told Thompson that the driver and his truck were found in Little Egg Harbor Township on Friday night. Officials gave credit to a local police officer who, upon hearing the vehicle's description, remembered two in the township that might be a match.

State police said no criminal charges have been filed against the driver, identified as Kenneth Potts Jr. They said it appears he was not at fault, although their investigation continues.

Law enforcement sources told Thompson that Potts has special needs, and is a worker on a cleaning crew at an Atlantic City hotel.

A witness tells NewsChannel 4 that the governor's vehicle was traveling at about 65 mph Thursday when it came up behind a red Ford pickup truck and a white Dodge pickup truck.

Potts was driving in the right lane, and he drifted off the shoulder of the highway, with some of the wheels onto the grass, state police said.

Sources said he apparently panicked and overcompensated when he jerked the steering wheel to the left. The white pickup also swerved and that caused the accident with Corzine's SUV.

Sources said Potts realized he was going too fast, and when he saw the accident, felt relieved that he wasn't involved. Sources said he told police he thought he was going too fast to be able to stop and help.

One source said leaving the scene of an accident is the only possible charge Potts might face, but the case is being treated as an accident investigation at this time.

State police had said earlier that the red pickup truck was "driving erratically."

Neighbors said they couldn't ever recall seeing Potts driving recklessly in the neighborhood.

One woman said of Potts and his father, "They're very helpful. My dad was sick about a year ago, and they drove my mom to the hospial, no questions asked."

Meanwhile, Corzine is out of surgery again Saturday morning to heal a serious leg injury he suffered in the crash.

The operation to clean out his broken femur took about an hour, Cooper University Hospital officials said. The hour-long procedure was called "uneventful."

Doctors said they made a 15-centimeter incision, and the governor needed a small amount of blood. His vital signs were improving, but his breathing tube was still in and his condition remained critical but stable condition.

Corzine has been heavily sedated since Thursday night's crash on the Garden State Parkway, in which he broke hiss left leg in two places, and broke 12 ribs, his sternum and a vertebra.

The governor was traveling to a meeting between Don Imus and the Rutgers women's basketball team at the time. But he was apparently not wearing his seatbelt in the front passenger seat, according to Tom Shea, his chief of staff.

State law requires all front-seat occupants to wear seat belts, or they can face a $46 fine. But Shea said that governor was "not always amenable to suggestion," adding that Corzine usually wore his seat belt and had been doing so earlier in the day on Thursday.

"If he was not, he certainly should have been," wearing his seat belt, Shea said, "and we would encourage the state police to issue a citation."

The state trooper who was driving Corzine to the meeting was released from the hospital Friday night. Sources told NewsChannel 4 that Trooper Robert Rasinski had no broken bones and was being questioned Saturday as part of the crash investigation.

Corzine, 60, did not suffer any brain damage. But he won't be able to resume his duties as governor for several days, if not weeks, and he won't walk normally for months, said the surgeon who performed surgery on the governor Thursday night at Cooper University Hospital.

"There's no way to tell specifically how close he came to more severe injuries, but based on pictures I've seen of the crash, I think he's lucky," Dr. Steven E. Ross said Friday.

Senate President Richard Codey officially became acting governor Thursday evening after getting a fax from Corzine's office saying the governor had been injured.

It's a familiar role for the Essex County Democrat, who served as acting governor for about 14 months after James E. McGreevey resigned in 2004 in the midst of an extramarital affair with a man.

"Business will continue as usual," Codey said at the Statehouse in Trenton Friday afternoon. "There will be no change in the way businesses are delivered in our state."

Corzine's daughter, Jennifer Pasani, told reporters she and brother Jeffrey visited their father Friday morning and that they "had a really good vibe from him."

"He's a fighter," said Pasani. "We really believe that he's going to be OK."

His son, Jeff Corzine, thanked well-wishers for the outpouring of support.