Injured Tejano music star moves to rehab center

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Tejano music star Emilio Navaira, who suffered a serious head injury in a bus accident, began rehabilitation on Wednesday in what his doctor called an important step in his recovery.

Navaira, 45, was moved from Memorial Hermann hospital where he had been treated since the March 23 crash on a Houston highway, into its nearby rehabilitation institute, the hospital said in a statement.

"Although he still has a long way to go in his recovery, this is certainly a major milestone and it is very encouraging for him and his family," neurosurgeon Alex Valadka said.

Navaira was driving his band's bus after a Houston performance when it plowed into a highway barrier and he was thrown through the windshield.

Doctors initially said he might not survive, but after surgery to relieve pressure on his brain and repair a lung injury, his condition was upgraded last week to fair and he was taken out of the intensive care unit.

Valadka told reporters at a press conference last Friday that Navaira could sit up, stand and converse on a limited basis, but it was not yet known if he would recover well enough to perform again.

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 Jeff Franks; editing by Erwin Seba and Todd Eastham)