December 2, 1967 - Jimmie Rodgers was found in his car with a fractured skull after a serious accident . He recovered from the auto accident, but his singing career ended. How many remember Jimmie Rodgers ( not the Country singer from the 30s)? I remember listening to him and liking his songs, during the late 50s and into the 60s, and then his almost dying in this accident. He survived, but his career was never the same again. What actually happened that night? Rodgers was pulled over by an off-duty LAPD cop for erratic driving. Rodgers has little memory of the incident as after this he suffered a severe skull fracture requiring several surgeries. The cop called for backup, and two more cops showed up. They then put Rodgers back into his car and left him there. The official claim by police, backed up by police, was that he fell and hit his head. What followed was a lawsuit by Rodgers claiming he had been beaten and a counter-suit by the police for slander. District Attorneys rejected following up on Rodgers claim of being beaten. Attending physicians first said that his injuries were consistent with a beating, but after backed the police story. Meanwhile, the cops involved were suspended for a couple weeks for following improper proceedure in leaving the unconscious Rodgers in the car and leaving ( one might say fleeing). Ultimately, neither lawsuit saw trial, the Police Lawsuit being dropped and in 1973, Rodgers accepting a $200,000 settlement. Rodgers dropped out of sight while recuperating from his fall , but continued to perform though failed any chart success of real note. He still does concerts from time to time, however. If you get a chance, maybe you should check him out. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmie_Rodgers_%28pop_singer%29#Head_injuries.2C_surgeries.2C_lawsuits_and_aftermath
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 04:04:03 +0000
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