Portland Trail Blazers rookie forward Ramon Ramos has been in a coma since his car slid out of control and rolled several times on an icy interstate highway before dawn Saturday, doctors said after the former Seton Hall star underwent neurosurgery.
Ramos, 22, sustained a blood clot on his brain, fluid in his lungs, several fractures to his ribs and scapula, and superficial abrasions.Following two hours of surgery at Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital, Ramos was listed in critical but stable condition.
Dr. Kim Burchiel said it would take 24 to 48 hours to establish a long-term prognosis and expected Ramos to remain comatose "for a while." Burchiel underwent a CAT scan following surgery that "still showed evidence of brain injury."
The accident happened at approximately 3 a.m. Saturday morning, following his team's 116-111 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Ramos played four years at Seton Hall in New Jersey and was on the Puerto Rican Olympic team at the 1988 Games in South Korea.
Gordon Landon of the Oregon State Police said Ramos apparently was driving at high speed on I-5 south of Portland when his Nissan 300ZX hit a patch of ice on an elevated section of the freeway.
Landon said the car turned sideways and slid onto the grassy median. At that point, the car went airborne for about 40 feet and then rolled over eight times, Landon said. The officer said Ramos was ejected after the car rolled nearly 200 feet.
He said the car came to rest in the middle of the southbound lanes. He added that Ramos was not wearing his seatbelt.
Buchiel estimated that the brunt of the injuries were sustained from being ejected or upon landing, implying a seat belt may have prevented the most serious damage.
Landon said it was difficult to determine how fast the car was traveling but added that there were a lot of skid marks.
Doctors who performed the surgery said there were no signs of alcohol or drugs. In fact, hospital spokeswoman Marlys Levin said there was never a question whether Ramos may have under the influence of either substance.
"This guy's a straight arrow," she said.
His parents, Ramon Ramos and Iluminada Mansa, who live in Puerto Rico, were expected to arrive in Portland late Saturday night with Ramos' girlfriend.
Ramos, an accounting major who started his final two collegiate seasons, was the Big East Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men's basketball last year when the Pirates surprisingly made the NCAA championship game before losing to Michigan.
"He's a fighter, he'll get back," said Gerald Greene, who played all four years with Ramos at Seton Hall and is now with the Quad Cities Thunder of the Continental Basketball Association.
"As long as everything comes out OK now (from surgery), I know he'll get back."
Greene reiterated Seton Hall Sports Information Director John Paquette's description of Ramos as "one of the most popular athletes ever here."
"He's a very nice person to be around because he's a person everybody gets along with," Greene said. "But he'll be a fighter with this."
Seton Hall Coach P.J. Carlesimo, who is quite close with Ramos, coached a Puerto Rican league in the late 1970s and early `80s and first watched Ramos when the player was 14 years old.
"We're hopeful that Ramon will be all right. Our prayers are with him," said Carlesimo, who informed Ramos' parents of the accident Saturday morning.