State Controller in critical condition in Boise

BOISE — Idaho State Controller Donna Jones was listed in critical condition today at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center after being involved in a car accident the day before. Hospital spokeswoman Corey Minton declined to release additional information about the 73-year-old Jones, who was flown to the hospital Friday afternoon following the one-vehicle crash on Interstate 84 near Heyburn. Jones’ Chief of Staff Brandon Woolf said Jones’ family today told him Jones is responsive, stable and recovering from non-life threatening injuries. “I’ve been in close contact with Donna’s family, and they appreciate the vast support, concern and prayers for their mother’s recovery,” Woolf said in a statement Saturday afternoon. “The two things that have seen Donna through this serious accident are the seatbelt she was wearing, and her considerable inner strength.” He said Jones was on a personal trip and returning from eastern Idaho when the crash occurred. Idaho State Police said Jones’ Cadillac Escalade for unknown reasons went off the side of the road. Police say Jones overcorrected and the vehicle rolled, but she was wearing a seatbelt. Jones was elected state controller in 2006, and before that the Payette native served 12 years in the Idaho House of Representatives.