No Brain Injury for Sweetwater Trustee, Wife Says; McCann Returns Home After Near Fatal Car Accident

Sweetwater Trustee John McCann returned home Saturday after almost dying in a two-car collision last month. Much of what was reported during more than two weeks in the intensive care unit at UC San Diego Medical Center was misconstrued or inaccurate, his wife Myssie McCann said.

McCann suffered broken ribs, a head injury and had to be cut out of his car with the Jaws of Life, Myssie said, but early reports that he may have sustained brain injury as a result of the crash were incorrect.

"I said head trauma and it turned into brain trauma and that turned into brain damage. I don't know where that came from," she said. "He's doing great now he's completely clear and lucid and all that good stuff."

McCann doesn't remember the car accident but did not suffer loss of his memory otherwise, his wife said.

"He didn't have any problem recognizing anybody. He knew everybody's name in the room. He knew my name right away," she said.

Instead of previous reports that it may take McCann up to a year to recover, the trustee may be back at work and on the diode at Sweetwater Union High School District Board of Trustees meetings as soon as next month.

My husband looks forward to being back at the September meeting but that will depend on medical advice," Myssie said.

Plans to run for re-election next fall are also on track.

"He has the same plans he had before. He's not making any major decisions right now but as far as we're concerned, we're moving forward with our lives before the accident," Myssie said. 

On July 24 McCann was in a two-car collision on Telegraph Canyon Road. 

The crash pinned his car's dashboard on his legs but was Jaws of Life got him out of the car in four minutes, said Jim Garcia with the Chula Vista Fire Department.

"What really saved John's life was the quick execution of the fire crew," Garcia said. 

"It was a pretty worrisome night for me and i'm happy he's alive and he's happy to be alive," she said. 

"It's a good time to have him home," she said, as the McCanns' prepare to send their daughter Blyss to her first year of college at UC Santa Cruz.