JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Chuck McRae is in the intensive care unit of a Mexican hospital after a scuba diving incident.
McRae’s daughter, Rebecca McRae Langston, tells The Clarion-Ledger it’s unclear what happened. She says she was told McRae breathed in a lot of saltwater at a depth of only 20 feet, even though he is an experienced diver.
Langston says her 77-year-old father is conscious in a Cozumel, Mexico hospital, recognizes her, and is no longer on a ventilator. She says an MRI found no brain damage.
McRae served 13 years on the court before losing re-election bid in 2003. McRae, who favors shorts and motorcycles, cuts a colorful figure in the buttoned-down world of Mississippi lawyers.
He was hospitalized repeatedly last year with bacterial infections, but recovered.
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