JONES PROBED

Originally posted Tuesday March 30, 1999 12:00 AM EST

A grand jury will investigate whether George Jones should be charged in a wreck that left him critically injured. The country singer lost control of his sport utility vehicle and crashed into a bridge on March 6. His family said he was talking to his stepdaughter on a cellular phone at the time. Jones, 67, suffered a punctured lung and lacerated liver. He spent 13 days in the hospital and was discharged March 19. A half-pint of vodka described as less than half-full was found under the passenger's seat of Jones' vehicle, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said. The investigating officer said there was no indication Jones had been drinking.