1 hour, 29 minutes ago
HOUSTON (Reuters) -
Grammy-winning Tejano music star Emilio
Navaira may not survive severe brain injuries from a Sunday
morning bus crash, the neurosurgeon overseeing his treatment
said on Monday.
Navaira underwent two hours of emergency surgery to relieve
a large blood clot on the surface of his brain underneath the
skull, and he has been put into a chemically induced coma, said
Dr. Alex Valadka.
"There is a chance he may not make it," Valadka said during
a Monday news conference at Memorial Hermann hospital in
Houston. "(The clot) was pushing on the brain, causing a lot of
pressure," he said.
Doctors have cooled Navaira's body to 91.5 degrees
Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius) to prevent swelling of his
brain, which could cause further damage, Valadka said.
The singer was driving his band's tour bus on a highway in
the Houston suburb of Bellaire, Texas, when it crashed into
plastic construction barrels. The bus then careened into a
concrete barrier on the side of the roadway.
Navaira was thrown through the windshield, said Bellaire
Assistant Police Chief Byron Holloway. "He did land in the
roadway in front of the vehicle," Holloway said."
Investigators have not found anyone who was riding in the
front of the bus with Navaira, so determining the accident's
cause may hinge on the singer's survival and his ability to
remember the crash, he said.
Police are attempting to determine if alcohol or fatigue
played a role in the accident, which occurred about 5 a.m.
Sunday local time (1000 GMT). Navaira and his band played
Saturday night at a club in southeast Houston and were driving
back to their homes in San Antonio.
Called the "King of Tejano music," Navaira is often
described as one of the most influential Tejano musicians, on
par with late singer Selena. Navaira won a Grammy award in 2003
for his album Acuerdate.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; editing by Bob Tourtellotte and
Todd Eastham)
No comments:
Post a Comment