Chad Jones, a rookie safety for the New York Giants, is recovering after nearly seven hours of emergency surgery following a one-car accident in New Orleans.
Jones, 21, suffered multiple fractures to his left leg and shattered both his tibia and fibula, plus had arteries and nerves exposed in the crash. Jones was taken into surgery and remained there for more than seven hours as doctors worked to save his leg.
It’s been said the surgery was a success and therefore Jones would keep his left foot, although doctors could not provide any sort of timetable regarding Jones’ rehabilitation.
“We’re strong and we’re praying,” Jones’ father told The Advocate. “This is the call you never want to get as a parent. I’m used to making those phone calls and now we’ve received one. It’s heartbreaking.”
Authorities told WDSU that Jones was driving his 2010 Range Rover toward Canal Street, when he lost control of the vehicle and hit a streetcar pole. Emergency responders were forced to cut Jones out of the vehicle, but two other passengers escaped serious injury.
New Orleans police told the New York Daily News that Jones was charged with “careless operation of a vehicle” and that they would also look into Jones’ toxicology report.
“We use guarded to denote a condition between critical and stable.”
Jones was a third-round pick by the Giants in April’s NFL Draft out of LSU. WDSU.com called Jones “perhaps one of the best athletes in the history of LSU.” Jones won a national title with the Tigers‘ football team in 2008, then repeated the feat as a pitcher on LSU’s baseball team in 2009.
The Giants were hoping that the athletic Jones could add some depth in the secondary, behind offseason acquisitions Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant. Jones recently signed his rookie contract, a four-year deal worth a reported $2.6 million.
