Singer Emilio Navaira could face charges in crash
Reuters
Posted: 2008-05-08 20:48:42
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Tejano singer Emilio Navaira
could face a charge of driving while intoxicated or drunken
assault from a March bus crash in which he was seriously
injured and several others were hurt, a police report showed.
In a supplement filed Wednesday to the original accident
report, a policeman said he had discussed the case with
prosecutors, and they were inclined to file charges.
Harris County Assistant District Attorney Eric Kugler "felt
this case warranted a DWI (driving while intoxicated) charge
but also felt the injuries were sufficient to support the
charge of intoxication assault," according to the report.
Kugler asked that the case be turned over to him for
follow-up and for presentation to a grand jury, but he added
that any formal charges would be filed only after Navaira's
mental status was determined, according to the supplement.
Kugler could not be reached for comment.
Navaira was driving his band's bus after a Houston
performance in late March when it plowed into a highway barrier
and he was thrown through the windshield.
In the original police report, Navaira, 45, was said to be
drunk at the time of the crash. The report said a blood test
indicated his blood-alcohol level was 0.19. The legal limit in
Texas is 0.08.
Doctors initially said Navaira might not survive the crash,
but after surgery to relieve pressure on his brain and repair a
lung injury, his condition was upgraded to fair. He was moved
from Memorial Hermann hospital into a nearby rehabilitation
institute on April 18.
Navaira won a 2003 Grammy Award for his album "Acuerdate."
Tejano music, which is popular along the U.S.-Mexico border,
blends music from Mexico and Texas.
(Reporting by Bruce Nichols; editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
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05/08/08 20:47 ET