Clemons' condition 'fair' after weekend ATV crash

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- University of Missouri basketball player Ricky Clemons was in fair condition Sunday at a Columbia hospital with injuries he suffered when he crashed an all-terrain vehicle during a private Fourth of July party at the home of university President Elson Floyd, authorities said.

Wally Bley, an attorney who represented Clemons earlier this year on a misdemeanor domestic assault charge involving a former girlfriend, told the Columbia Missourian that Clemons had a severe concussion, punctured lung and broken ribs. A message left at Bley's home Sunday seeking further comment was not immediately returned.

Clemons, 22, has been staying at Reality House, a work-release center in Columbia, while serving a 60-day sentence imposed June 13. He is permitted to leave from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays only to attend university classes and related activities and was not authorized to attend the party, a Reality House official said Sunday.

Michael Princivalli, security director at Reality House, said Clemons had served slightly less than half of his sentence and caused no problems until Friday.

"My concern is that he wasn't where he was supposed to be," Princivalli said Sunday. "We can't control someone who signs out to go somewhere and doesn't go there."

He said the facility checks daily on residents' whereabouts but had been unable to make contact Friday with Clemons after he signed out to attend a study group.

A 5-foot-11 point guard, Clemons was suspended from the team for the 2003-2004 season after pleading guilty in April to the assault charge and a misdemeanor count of false imprisonment.

Clemons was injured at 9:45 p.m. Friday when he lost control of the ATV on a half-mile gravel driveway at Floyd's residence, a hilltop home known as Providence Point, University of Missouri Police Capt. Brian Weimer said Sunday.

A passenger on the ATV walked back to the residence and asked that someone call an ambulance, Weimer said. Firefighters found Clemons face down in a ditch, conscious but complaining of injuries to multiple parts of his body.

Weimer said Clemons was taken by ambulance to University Hospital. The passenger, whose name was not released, was taken to the hospital by private vehicle, treated and released.

Clemons was admitted to University Hospital in serious condition and improved by Saturday night to fair condition, the hospital's house manager said Sunday.

Weimer said the cause of the crash was being investigated, but that alcohol was not suspected as a factor.

"We have nothing to indicate that alcohol was consumed" by Clemons, Weimer said.

A statement released by the university Saturday to the Columbia Daily Tribune said Clemons had contacted Floyd's wife, Carmento Floyd, on Thursday "and was invited to come to Providence Point on Friday. The president and his wife had been asked by the MU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics to spend time with Ricky, and the Floyds had agreed to do so."

Clemons and "another guest" were riding the Floyds' ATV "when it tipped over," the university said.

University spokesman David Russell said Clemons arrived at the president's residence early Friday afternoon for the gathering, which no other university officials or student athletes attended. Russell described the juvenile on the ATV as a male acquaintance of the Floyds.

"The president told me point-blank that he wasn't aware Clemons was violating the terms of his work-release program," Russell said Sunday. "In retrospect, it would have been good to find out what those details were."

The accident occurred on university property, Russell said, but the ATV belonged to Floyd. He said the issue of who is liable for Clemons' medical bills hadn't come up.

Princivalli said he has reported Clemons' absence to the court, which will investigate and decide whether to take any action.

He said he doesn't know how badly Clemons is hurt because the hospital is not telling him anything because of confidentiality concerns.

Russell said as far as the university is concerned, Clemons's status at the school hasn't changed.

"That is a legal issue between Clemons, Reality House, the prosecutor and the judge," he said. "Other than that, he's still a student at University of Missouri."

In January, Clemons was arrested for choking a woman who had refused to watch a movie with him and was trying to leave his Columbia apartment. He pleaded guilty in April and was sentenced last month to 60 days in jail for the false imprisonment charge and two years of probation and a one-year suspended sentence for the assault.

Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Crane said that if the court determines Clemons violated the terms of his work release, he might not be facing additional jail time. Crane said since Clemons is still serving his 60-day sentence for false imprisonment, he's not yet on probation for assault.

In 32 starts last season, Clemons averaged 14.2 points -- third on the team -- and a team-best 3.8 assists. He shot 38 percent from the field, including 34 percent from 3-point range. Clemons led the Tigers with 49 steals. He struggled down the stretch with turnovers and shot just 10-of-47 from the floor in his last five games, including 2-of-15 in the Tigers' NCAA tournament loss to Marquette.