Singer Emilio Navaira could face charges in crash

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 on 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)