HONOLULU – Hawaii football coach June Jones remained in
guarded condition Saturday and is expected to be hospitalized for
several weeks following a car accident.
|  | | Honolulu police look over what's left of the car that was driven by Hawaii football coach June Jones. |
Doctors are optimistic about the 48-year-old coach's chances for
a full recovery. The former NFL quarterback and coach has regained
consciousness and is moving his arms and legs.
Dr. Gail Tominaga, director of trauma services at The Queen's
Medical Center, said Jones was nodding in response to questions and
had started to open his eyes.
A breathing tube was removed Saturday, allowing Jones to breathe
on his own, doctors said. The tube had prevented Jones from
speaking, so he hadn't been able to explain what caused his car to
veer off the freeway Thursday near Honolulu International Airport
and crash into a concrete pillar of an overpass.
Jones was not wearing a seat belt, and the state's Department of
Transportation hopes to use him as an example of the importance of
seat belts, spokeswoman Marilyn Kali said.
Jones directed the biggest one-year turnaround in NCAA history.
He took over a team that went 0-12 under Fred vonAppen in 1998. In
his first season, the Warriors were 9-3 and won the Oahu Bowl. Even
as the Warriors slipped to 3-9 last year, fans stood by Jones.
Jones turned down an offer to continue coaching the San Diego
Chargers for the Hawaii job. He was a quarterback for the school in
the early 1970s.
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