Crippled in ’82 Crash, Pendergrass Injured Critically in Another

PHILADELPHIA — Soul singer Teddy Pendergrass, partially paralyzed in a 1982 auto crash, was critically injured today when the van he was driving slammed into a telephone pole, a hospital spokesman said.

The singer suffered internal bleeding and underwent abdominal surgery to determine the extent of his injuries, said George Hatzfeld, a spokesman for Osteopathic Medical Center of Philadelphia.

Hatzfeld said Pendergrass’ specially equipped van hit a telephone pole just outside the city limits shortly before 11 a.m.

Pendergrass was paralyzed from the waist down four years ago when his Rolls-Royce ran off the road and hit two trees in the city’s Germantown section.