Full Recovery Deemed Possible for Henderson

Former Westlake High baseball standout Jim Henderson, who sustained a spinal cord injury and some paralysis four days after starting his minor league career, might make a full recovery, hospital officials in Jamestown, N.Y., said Wednesday.

Henderson, 23, is undergoing therapy at the Erie County Medical Center in Jamestown.

“His condition is listed as fair,” hospital spokeswoman Ginevra James said. “He is on our rehabilitation floor daily and walking and talking and eating. The spinal cord injury was not a severe one.”

Henderson was riding in a car with three other players and the trainer for the Class-A Jamestown Expos early in the morning June 19 when the vehicle, driven by trainer Lee Slagle of Lafayette, Ala., went off a highway and skidded 300 feet before overturning, according to police in nearby Ellicott.

Slagle faces a charge of suspicion of drunken driving.

Henderson suffered injuries to his back and neck along with facial injuries.

He had completed his eligibility at Arizona State, where he was a catcher on the baseball team, earlier this year. He signed a contract with the Montreal Expos in June and was assigned to Jamestown of the New York-Penn League, which began its season June 16.