Youmans Injured in Auto Accident

Pitcher Floyd Youmans of the Montreal Expos suffered minor head injuries Monday when he was involved in a one-car accident on the Trans-Canada Highway in the north end of the city.

Monique Giroux, a spokesman for the Expos, said a police report obtained by the team indicated that Youmans was driving a rented red Corvette when he lost control of the vehicle and it struck a cement median.

A public relations official for the Quebec provincial police said Youmans lost control because two tow trucks had collided earlier and an anti-freeze solution had spilled on the road.

Youmans, 23, who was alone in the car, was taken to Sacre Coeur Hospital, where he was found to have suffered nothing more than head bruises, and doctors decided to release him after treatment, according to Giroux.

Youmans, who has been on the disabled list twice this season because of back and elbow injuries, had returned to Montreal on Sunday from Chicago, where the team was playing, to have Dr. Larry Coughlin, the Expos’ physician, examine his right elbow. Youmans has complained of pain in the elbow in recent weeks, and he said it was a factor in a mediocre four-inning outing against the Cubs last Friday.

Last month, Youmans, who is 9-8 with a 4.64 earned-run average, went on the disabled list because of a strained right elbow. The move came less than a week after the Montreal Gazette reported two women had made sworn statements that Youmans had used cocaine in front of them. Youmans denied the story and the Expos supported the denials.