Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007 | 7:38 a.m.
Like everything else about our 50th state, the rules about coming and going in high school are pretty laid back. That would explain why Niki Jones, a senior at Punahou High School, was driving down Kapiolani Boulevard, most likely with a warm breeze blowing in her hair and not a care in the world, when the man came on the radio and said her dad was dead.
Niki Jones was on her way to put gas in her car at 10:30 on that particular February morning in paradise. When she heard the man on the radio say that her dad, revered Hawaii football coach June Jones, had been killed in an automobile accident earlier that morning, she stopped her car on the side of the road.
Hawaii wasn't paradise anymore. It was a living hell.
"I was pretty hysterical at that point," she said.
Niki Jones, still disbelieving, called her mom, who said the man on the radio had been wrong. Yes, her dad had suffered terrible injuries when he inexplicably drove off the freeway near the Honolulu airport and into a concrete pillar. No, he wasn't dead, although that was what the paramedic had told dispatch when he radioed in.
Niki Jones, 24, recently joined the public relations staff at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. She can't wait to see her dad, who will lead 24th-ranked Hawaii (with a small assist from Colt Brennan, the Warriors' prolific quarterback) into Saturday's 6:30 p.m. game against UNLV at Sam Boyd Stadium.
There will be a family reunion of sorts as the Joneses from Hawaii will get together with the Joneses from Portland, Ore., which is where her dad grew up.
Keeping up with these Joneses probably won't include recalling the events of Feb. 22, 2001. Although you never forget something like that, reliving it is time poorly spent when there are lucky stars to count and higher authorities to thank.
When I asked Niki Jones if there was something about her dad you wouldn't know from reading his bio in the media guide, she didn't hesitate.
"He's very stubborn," she said.
That, as much as anything, probably explains why he'll be running onto the field - albeit with a slight limp - with a lei around his neck on Saturday night. That, and perhaps a bit of divine intervention.
That, and an errant 9-iron.
Jones, a former NFL quarterback who was head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 1994 to 1996 and later served as interim head coach of the San Diego Chargers, was a scratch golfer who stored his golf clubs in the back seat of his Thunderbird.
The force with which he hit the pillar sent his clubs crashing through the windshield along with everything else that wasn't nailed down, with the exception of himself.
Jones wasn't wearing a seat belt and was thrown toward the passenger side of the front seat and clear of the flying woods and irons that probably would have killed him.
He suffered a tear in his aorta - the body's main artery - and other internal injuries. He was in a coma for days, but pulled through, and, in a style that reflects his toughness, had a friend spring him from the hospital just before midnight, a full two weeks ahead of schedule.
To this day, police and Jones have no idea why he crashed. There were no signs of speeding or alcohol.
"The only thing I can think of is that I fell asleep," he said during his recovery. "The good Lord just didn't have my number at the time because there's no physical reason I should be here."
Although her dad doesn't recall anything about the accident, Niki Jones sure does. She will tell you that a warm breeze blowing through your hair is nice, but it's not as nice as calling your mom and learning that the man on the radio was wrong.
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