Tejano Singer Critical After Crash

Tejano singer Emilio Navaira, known simply as Emilio, is in critical condition at Houston’s  Memorial Hermann Hospital following a March 23rd tour bus crash in the suburb of Bellaire.
    “Currently, he is still critically ill,” Dr. Alex Valadka told the Houston Chronicle.  “There is a chance he may not make it. You have to acknowledge that.”
    Valadka said during a press conference that Emilio was unconscious when he was brought to the hospital’s intensive care unit and doctors operated to remove a blood clot from his brain. Doctors have also been working to minimize brain swelling following the procedure.
    “The severity of his coma classifies him as what we call a severe brain injury and overall the death rate from that is maybe somewhere between 30-35 percent,” Valadka said.
While there were six other passengers on the bus, all but bass player Rick Vega have been treated and released following the crash.
Emilio and his band Rio performed at local club Hallabaloo’s the night before the crash, during which the singer was thrown through the windshield of the bus when it collided with traffic barrels in the early morning hours of March 23rd.
While authorities continue to investigate possible causes of the crash, Bellaire Assistant Police Chief Byron Holloway told the Chronicle the singer, who was driving the vehicle, was unlicensed to do so.
 “This is going to be driver error or something mechanical,” Holloway said. “I think the blood analysis might tell the tale.