Sen. Cooper has more surgery for wreck injuries

Cooper, D-Morrison, returned to the Senate last month for the first time since his Feb. 7 accident in which his SUV overturned several times on Interstate 24 in Rutherford County after he attended three legislative receptions in Nashville.

Cooper was charged with drunken driving and surrendered on a warrant that showed his blood-alcohol level was 0.18 percent. Tennessee’s blood alcohol limit is 0.08 percent.

?Sen. Cooper is having follow-up surgery as he continues to recover from injuries sustained in his car accident,? said Sen. Joe Haynes, D-Goodlettsville. ?He?ll rejoin the Senate as soon as possible. Obviously, we wish him a speedy recovery.?

Following the accident, Cooper had a federal land fraud trial in Chattanooga delayed until June. Cooper has pleaded not guilty to charges of bank fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit bank and mail fraud.

Cooper is accused of using a fraudulent appraisal and political influence to help an Alabama businessman borrow $1.7 million for the 1999 purchase of Cooper’s lumber mill in Warren County.