Report: Navaira had blood alcohol of .19

HOUSTON, May 9 (UPI) -- Police say Tejano singer Emilio Navaira had a blood-alcohol content more than twice the legal limit when he crashed his tour bus in Texas several weeks ago.

The San Antonio Express-News said a report made public Thursday by the Bellaire Police Department showed Navaira had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19 at the time of the late March accident.

Navaira, 45, could face charges of driving while intoxicated or felony intoxication assault, since five passengers, in addition to himself, were injured, the newspaper said.

"We have to inventory the extent of the injuries and the extent of his capacity to be a defendant," Assistant District Attorney Eric Kugler told the Express-News. "We're still looking at medical records."

Navaira has undergone two operations on his brain and surgery on his right lung after he was thrown through the windshield of the bus. After weeks of therapy, he is now able to stand, talk and eat.

Ricardo Vega, the bassist for Navaira's band, suffered a broken neck, fractured shoulder blade and lacerated liver in the crash.

"Unfortunately I don't know how to react," Vega told the newspaper. "He could have killed himself. And not just himself. We were all in there."

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