
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 12, 1991                   TAG: 9104120019
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: INGLEWOOD, CALIF.                                LENGTH: Short

SHOEMAKER RESPONSIVE, STABILIZED

Bill Shoemaker, partially paralyzed in an auto accident, was reported to be alert and responsive Thursday. Meanwhile, tests showed his blood-alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit the night of the crash, and authorities prepared to file drunken driving charges.

"Bill Shoemaker has stabilized but is still in critical condition," said a spokesman for Centinela Hospital Medical Center. "He is alert, responsive, and his spirit is strong. He has paralysis of both the upper and lower extremities."

Several friends who have visited Shoemaker in the hospital say the Hall of Fame jockey is on a respirator and has no movement from the neck down, except for some slight movement in his arms. His head is reportedly cradled in a metal brace.

"I said a few words to him, and he moved his eyes like he understood what I was saying," jockey Laffit Pincay said Wednesday. "I think he's conscious, he's hurt and he can't do anything about it."

Shoemaker, known as Willie during his heyday in the 1950s and '60s, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.13 when his Ford Bronco tumbled down a freeway embankment Monday night in San Dimas. The legal limit is 0.08.

Sources said Shoemaker, 58, fractured and dislocated a vertebra, damaged his spleen and punctured both lungs.

Flores said authorities believe Shoemaker fell asleep before losing control of his vehicle.

It remained unclear whether Shoemaker is in danger of being permanently paralyzed on whether the condition could be temporary.

Keywords:
HORSE RACING

by CNB