Gloria Estefan was on top of the music world. It nearly ended in tragedy on the road

Gloria Estefan was injured in a bus crash on March 20, 1990.

The accident, on a snow-covered Pennsylvania road, broke her back and resulted in surgery.

Would the Miami superstar be able to perform again?

Here is a look back through the Miami Herald archives on coverage of the crash and the recovery.

THE CRASH

Published March 21, 1990

Gloria Estefan, the singer whose sounds and Sound Machine put Miami on the musical map around the world, was injured in a bus crash on a snow-covered Pennsylvania road Tuesday along with her producer husband Emilio and their 9-year-old son.

A spokeswoman at Community Medical Center in Scranton, Pa., said Estefan, 32, suffered a broken vertebra. The trauma surgeon who first treated the singer, Dr. William Pfeifer, said there was no paralysis from the injury in the center of her back.

“At this point, we are looking for her getting everything back,” Pfeifer said. “She is not paralyzed in any way, shape or form.”

FLASHBACK MIAMI: GLORIA ESTEFAN THROUH THE YEARS

The singer’s brother-in-law said in Miami that there was no risk of paralysis. A team of doctors planned to examine Gloria Estefan late Tuesday to determine whether she should undergo surgery to repair the injury today or wear a cast for up to six months, brother-in-law Jose Estefan said. They also were considering moving her to Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, he said.

Emilio Estefan Jr., 38, suffered bruises on his head and a cut on one hand. Their son Nayib broke his right shoulder. Two aides aboard the bus, Jelissa Arencibia and Lori Rooney, suffered broken ribs, but were treated and released, Jose Estefan said.

The driver of the customized bus, Ron Jones, and Pennsylvania state police said the band’s bus was sandwiched between two tractor-trailers in the westbound lanes of Interstate 380 near Tobyhanna, about 20 miles southeast of Scranton, near the Poconos Mountains.

The bus was en route from New York City to a scheduled concert in Syracuse, N.Y., part of the Get on Your Feet tour which was to end Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. The accident forced cancellation of the concert and the tour, which started March 1.

One tractor-trailer had jackknifed, blocking the road and backing up traffic. The bus halted behind another 18-wheeler. As it sat idling, a tractor-trailer driven by an Ontario man slammed into the rear of the bus and smashed it into the one ahead.

The driver of the tractor-trailer that skidded out of control on the snow-slicked road, Geraldo Samuels, was charged with driving a vehicle at an unsafe speed, police said.

“We were stopped, waiting for them to clear the road. I didn’t see him coming,” Jones said.

Gloria Estefan was sleeping in a bunk aboard the bus when they were hit. Emilio was talking on a mobile phone with the band’s secretary in Miami, Maria Elena Guerreiro.

“He was telling me how it was snowing and how beautiful it was. We were talking and suddenly, I lost him,” she said.

It was 12:15 p.m. Gloria was thrown from the bunk and onto the floor. Emilio Estefan was knocked unconscious. Minutes later, using the portable phone, the bus driver called the band’s road manager at the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, where Tuesday night’s concert was planned. But the call was cut off in seconds.

The road manager then called Jose Estefan in Miami and passed on all the information he had.

“There’s been an accident, there’s people hurt,” Jose Estefan said he was told.

Gloria Estefan’s younger sister, Rebecca Fajardo, was at a local radio station when news of the accident came across the wire service teletype. She dashed out in a panic, unable later to remember even which station she was at.

Tuesday evening, Fajardo, Gloria’s mother and two cousins boarded a 7:50 p.m. Continental jet for Newark, where they intended to rent a car and drive to Scranton.

“The only thing I want to do is get there and be with her,” she said. “To see with my own eyes that she is OK.”

As word of the accident and the popular Cuban-American singer’s injury reverberated through the community, family, friends and celebrities started phoning and gathering at the band’s Bird Road office where the walls are lined with poster- sized photographs of Gloria Estefan and newspaper clippings celebrating the band’s successes.

At least 30 relatives and close friends pressed in under the glare of television camera lights and popping photographer’s strobes, expectantly waiting the relieving words that wouldn’t come until hours later — Gloria Estefan would be all right.

“It was really bad at the beginning, we were very worried about what had happened,” said the singer’s nephew, Juan Estefan, 22. “As the day went on, we started to find out that it wasn’t that serious.”

Singer Julio Iglesias offered his condolences and the use of his plane for Rebecca Estefan’s trip. George Bush, who met Gloria and Emilio Estefan for the first time at the White House on Monday, called five times to check on the Miami Sound Machine’s lead singer.

Gloria Estefan, daughter of a teacher and a former bodyguard for Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, immigrated to Miami in 1962. She was a shy young woman majoring in psychology at the University of Miami when she joined a local group, the Miami Latin Boys, and began performing more or less as a hobby in 1975.

Three years later, she married the group’s percussionist, Emilio Estefan. About the same time, the renamed group — the Miami Sound Machine — was starting to attract attention.

“Doctor Beat” was the group’s first popular hit to show off the Sound Machine’s mixture of Latin, pop, rock, and urban influences.

Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine won the American Music Awards’ 1989 favorite pop-rock duo or group award, and Estefan was a host on the 1990 awards show. In 1988, Estefan won the BMI award as songwriter of the year. She wrote seven of the songs on the group’s 1989 album “Cuts Both Ways.”

THE SURGERY

Published March 22, 1990

Singer Gloria Estefan, injured Tuesday in a wreck on a snowy Pennsylvania mountain highway, was transferred by helicopter to New York Wednesday for surgery to repair her broken back.

Surgeons at Manhattan’s Hospital for Joint Diseases Orthopedic Institute plan to fuse two vertebrae in Estefan’s back today. The operation, scheduled for 8:30 a.m., could take up to four hours and involves bracing a portion of her spine with two eight-inch steel rods.

Doctors at the Community Medical Center here said that Estefan, star of Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, will not perform again for three to six months.

And though the outlook for the award-winning pop vocalist’s recovery is good, the doctors said she may never be able to flounce and gyrate on stage the way she once did.

“I certainly can’t picture anything happening that would leave her unable to give concerts, but she may not be able to do some of the things on stage that she has done in the past,” said Dr. Harry Schmaltz, an orthopedic surgeon. a.

Estefan, 32, was asleep in her band’s tour bus shortly after noon on Tuesday when driver Ron Jones stopped. A truck had jackknifed in the westbound lanes of Interstate 380 near Tobyhanna, Pa. Traffic was backed up. A minute or two later, Jones said, a tractor-trailer driven by Geraldo Samuels roared up behind the bus, tried to stop, but couldn’t.

The crash pushed the Miami Sound Machine bus into the truck ahead, and sent Estefan flying from her couch.

“Basically, she does not remember the accident at all,” said Dr. William Pfeifer, the trauma surgeon who admitted Estefan to the hospital. “She was asleep, then she woke up to find herself on the floor and in pain.”

Schmaltz, the orthopedic surgeon, said it appeared the damage was done when Estefan’s body snapped forward violently at the waist, twisting at the same time.

Samuels was cited for driving at an unsafe speed, a misdemeanor. On the slick, wet mountain road, even fairly moderate speeds could be dangerous. Estefan’s injury is to her first lumbar vertebra, near the center of her back. It is broken, and the bone is out of alignment. This has put pressure on her spinal cord, causing some numbness in the tops of her feet and weakness in her ankles.

“We see fractures like this all the time, because we handle all the car accidents in this area,” said Schmaltz. “Still, I want to make it clear that this is a big-time injury.”

Schmaltz said the damage could get worse if Esfetan moves suddenly or if swelling around the fracture puts additional pressure on the spinal cord. That’s why surgery needs to be done soon, he said.

Dr. Michael Neuwirth, the New York hospital’s chief of spinal surgery, who will perform today’s operation, said Estefan’s prognosis was excellent.

“The risk of paralysis is exceedingly rare,” Neuwirth said. “There’s always a possibility for things to worsen, but we would not expect that. The key problem is instability of the spine.”

Neuwirth said Estefan had suffered minimal neurological damage in the accident and should recuperate fully. In the operating room, surgeons plan to restore the bone to its proper position, then fix it in place using two eight-inch steel rods at the junction between Estefan’s middle and lower back.

Some of the vertebrae would be fused to give additional stability, Schmaltz said.

The extent of Estefan’s recovery will depend in large part on the number of vertebrae that are fused.

“It’s a question of stability versus flexibility,” Schmaltz said. “We want to make sure that bone stays where it is supposed to be for 20, 30, 40 years. But when we add stability, that means we give up some flexibility.”

Pfeifer acknowledged “some minimal risk involved in transferring” Estefan to New York, but said doctors agreed that this was “the better, safer course for Gloria.”

She will be treated by a specialist who does nothing but spinal surgery, he said. Estefan, her husband and Neuwirth arrived at the New York hospital at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and the singer underwent several medical tests.

She was wheeled into the hospital on a stretcher. The only part of her body visible was her face, which was tightly held in a bright orange brace that resembled a life preserver. A tube was inserted in her nose, and her eyes were closed, although she apparently was conscious.

Community Medical Center is the main trauma center for north-central Pennsylvania, and injuries like Estefan’s are routine at the hospital, Schmaltz said.

On Wednesday, there were three other patients in the hospital with similar fractures. Nevertheless, Estefan’s family asked that a doctor who does nothing but spine surgery be located to treat the injured singer.

Earlier Wednesday, they had discussed bringing such a surgeon to Scranton to perform the surgery there, so that Estefan would not have to go through the painful — and potentially risky — process of changing hospitals.

The singer, known for her ability to blend Latin rhythms and urban influences into a unique pop-rock sound, was resting comfortably before her Wednesday transfer, with the help of pain medications.

Well-wishes poured into the hospital from around the world, more than 1,000, from ordinary fans and luminaries alike. A steady procession of florists dropped off bouquets. Elton John sent flowers, and there were calls from Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, John Denver, Ryan O’Neal and Frankie Avalon, associates said.

“There were personal phone calls from George, twice,” said Dr. Pfeifer. “Bush, that is.”

Estefan was on her way from a White House visit to a concert in Syracuse, N.Y., when the accident struck. The singer’s injuries were far and away the worst caused by the accident.

Her assistant, Jelissa Arencibia of Hialeah, remained in the hospital for observation Wednesday after suffering less severe back injuries. Four members of Estefan’s group were treated Tuesday and released. They included Estefan’s son, Nayib, who had a broken collarbone. Husband Emilio Estefan was treated for cuts and bruises and released.

Wednesday, he and other family members kept Gloria company at her bedside in the intensive care unit — routine placement for back fractures, doctors said.

“Gloria is just glad to be alive,” said the singer’s sister, Becky Fajardo. “Her spirits are high, as high as can be expected. She is sleeping a lot. Because she can’t eat and drink, her throat is very dry and she can’t talk.”

Pfeifer, the trauma surgeon, said Estefan was “certainly not chipper, but feeling somewhat better,” after sleeping Tuesday night. The injury, however, left her unable to eat on Wednesday.

“After an accident like this, the stomach goes on vacation,” said Schmaltz.

An intravenous tube kept liquids flowing into her body. The singer’s greatest concern is for the concert dates she’ll be forced to cancel as she recovers.

Said Schmaltz: “She says she wants to apologize to her fans.”

‘I CAN’T BELIEVE SHE’S ALIVE

Published March 24, 1990

The Odyssey was demolished.

Becky Fajardo, Gloria Estefan’s sister, wandered through the wreckage of her tour bus, the Odyssey, in a pitch-dark warehouse outside Scranton, Pa.

It was Wednesday, the day after the bus carrying Gloria, husband Emilio and 9-year-old son Nayib was slammed from behind when a semi-truck lost control on a snow-slick mountain highway.

Gloria, asleep on a bunk, was hurled toward the middle of the bus.

Her back was broken.

Emilio bruised his forehead and cut his hand and leg. Nayib snapped a collarbone.

Fajardo had come to gather their belongings: Gloria’s books, videotapes, sunglasses and Reebok sneakers; Nayib’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle paraphernalia.

Fajardo guided herself through the crushed vehicle with a flashlight. Glass from the shattered windows covered everything. Fajardo could follow Emilio’s crimson handprints through the interior. Most of the front end was gone, part of it torn away for paramedics to remove Gloria.

One thought echoed in Fajardo’s mind: “My God, I can’t believe she’s alive.”

A successful spinal operation was performed Thursday on Gloria Estefan, 32, the energetic star of Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine.

The Cuba-born singer-songwriter, whose injury has captured national attention and an outpouring of love and concern in Miami, will rest for seven to 10 days at the Hospital for Joint Diseases in downtown Manhattan.

A hospital spokesman said Gloria was moved from intensive care to a private room Friday. From there, she will come home to Miami.

After therapy, rest and recovery, expected to take three to six months, Gloria’s doctors say she will be bouncing across stages as aggressively as ever.

Gloria is comfortable and alert — Emilio says she is already writing songs. “She told me ‘Don’t worry,’ “ Emilio says. “ ‘I’m alive — that’s the main thing. And nothing happened to the baby (Nayib). I’m going to do it. I’m going to prove it to people.’ “

Emilio first thought the crash was an explosion. Then it was cold. The missing windows let in the icy mountain air. Emilio staggered over to his wife. She already knew.

“I broke my back,” she said.

Nayib told his father: “Daddy, I think I have a broken bone.”

Emilio was amazed that his son did not cry.

Back in Scranton, when Emilio was told that surgeons would have to cut into Gloria’s back, he fainted. After hearing that the surgery went well Thursday, a relieved Emilio, 37, “kissed a nurse.”

Late that night, he wandered into the lobby of his New York hotel after walking aimlessly along dozens of city blocks to “clear out my system.”

He had been distraught and still shaken at the frenzied news conference following the surgery. Now, as he chatted with arriving family and friends, Emilio, they say, was becoming the old Emilio again. Warm, friendly, talkative.

There have been get-well calls from Madonna, Diana Ross, Arsenio Hall, Cyndi Lauper and Dick Clark. And numerous calls have come in from the White House, where Gloria and family had met with President Bush the day before the accident.

During a call following the four-hour operation, Emilio says Bush asked, “How’s my little Gloria?”

After the surgery, the singer told her husband: “I’m going to be fine. I love you.”

It has been a week of living by family strength, says Fajardo, 26, a time for relying on inseparable bonds with her big sister and their mother, Gloria Fajardo, who turned 60 the day of the surgery.

“It’s the three of us against the world,” Becky Fajardo says. “I have a million friends . . . but they are the only two real things I have.”

Family and doctors say it again and again: Gloria has been a model of courage — and the model patient — through it all. She never complains about the pain. She keeps track of her medication times.

She uttered “not a peep” Wednesday during the 45-minute helicopter trip from Scranton to New York. In fact, when word came she was to be transferred, Emilio says Gloria didn’t want to go — she didn’t want to offend the doctors in Scranton.

It’s how Gloria Estefan is.

“I know exactly what Gloria’s made of,” Fajardo says. “That’s why I know she’s going to recover. She’s going to be fine because she’s a trouper.” Fajardo, who was in Miami when the accident occurred, was reunited with her sister on Wednesday at 2:30 a.m.

They held hands, Fajardo says, “for a good hour.” And though there were tears, Beckski — as Gloria calls her — made it a point to stop.

“I am the one who’s always crying,” Fajardo says. “I am the one who’s weak. “I didn’t want Gloria crying. I didn’t want her getting upset because it was only going to make things worse. So I said, ‘We’re together and we’re going to make it through. So let’s hang tough.’ “Then I went off and lost it in the hallway. “I don’t want to cry in front of her because all her life Gloria has been responsible for me,” Fajardo says.

“She always brought me up, she always took care of me. She was always there for me. “I want to be there for her now,” says Fajardo. “I want to be the older sister for once.”

COMING OUT OF THE DARK

Jan. 29, 1991

Gloria Estefan Into the Light Epic Records Gloria Estefan has really put her soul into this one.

On Into the Light, her first album since the well- documented bus accident last March, Estefan sounds as if she not only wrote the lyrics but also lived them. The album is available in record stores today.

Coming Out of the Dark, the first single, is the best example. The first two lines — Why be afraid if I’m not alone/ Though life is never easy the rest is unknown — leaves no doubt this is a product of the accident and her six-month recovery. The rest of the song soars into a gospel-tinged showpiece with an eight-member chorus led by Miami’s Betty Wright.

Estefan’s performance is equally mesmerizing on the Spanish version, Desde La Oscuridad.

Dark was Emilio Estefan’s inspiration. He thought of the idea as the sun kept poking through the clouds while he and Gloria were taking a helicopter ride to a Manhattan hospital after the crash.

The song was written by the Estefans and Miami singer/songwriter Jon Secada. Then there’s Nayib’s Song (I Am Here For You), a gentle ballad Estefan wrote for her son. The song expresses a mother’s concern about the tough world her son will grow up in. The message isn’t new, but this is no sappy tear-jerker. Estefan’s sincere performance makes sure of that.

The accident and its aftermath seem to have given her more depth in her vocal style and her songwriting. With a world tour beginning in March at the Miami Arena and two videos (Dark and Fate) completed and ready for airplay, 1991 should be a healthy year for Gloria Estefan.

This story was originally published March 4, 2019 at 11:40 AM.