No light has been shed on what caused Jets rookie wide receiver Jalen Saunders’ car to roll off the road, leading to him being hospitalized, but a few more details are coming to light.
According to Darryl Slater of the Newark Star-Ledger, Saunders was conscious and accepted medical treatment when first responders got to him Friday morning.
What has been described as a “medical event,” led to his being hospitalized for observation. He’s was released from the hospital Sunday, but didn’t practice with the team yesterday. Jets coach Rex Ryan said he won’t play Friday in their third preseason game, but didn’t want to speculate about the regular season opener.
“I think from standing here, it’s easy to say, ‘Ah, I think he’ll play,’” Ryan said. “But we don’t know, really, how he’s going to progress through this exercise and all that. The main thing is, the health of our player, the health of Jalen. I think doing right by him will determine if he’s ready to play or not.
“I think the big thing is, I’m just leaning on the professionals’ advice, on how we’re going to approach it. For us to say ‘oh, yeah, he’s ready to go,’ or whatever, I think it’s a lot smarter to put it in somebody else’s hands that knows a lot more about it.”
According to the police report, Saunders was driving his Toyota Corolla toward the Jets facility at 7:50 a.m. Friday, when he attempted to make a left turn. But because of the “medical event,” he didn’t complete the turn, and rolled at an angle through the intersection and off the road before his car stopped in the tall grass.
The good news is, he’s seemingly well now. He is expected to talk to reporters today or tomorrow.
