18-year-old ends up in coma after spending less than a day at the Oklahoma County Jail

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A family is questioning what happened to their 18-year-old son while he was in the custody of the Oklahoma County Jail, which sent him to the hospital with a traumatic brain injury.

Antonio Hendricks spent 19 hours at the county jail; now he's in a coma fighting for his life while his family is still searching for answers.

Clovia Long, Hendricks' mother, told News 4, "My primary question is what happened to my son and who did it?"

According to court documents, Hendricks was pulled over for improper lane use near SE 44th and Sunnylane.

Oklahoma City police officers ended up arresting Hendricks after finding a gun in his waistband, and they say he didn't have a valid driver's license.

News 4 obtained the body cam footage from police, showing the moments officers took Hendricks into custody. In the footage, he appears to be walking and speaking normally.

Hendricks was taken to the county jail and booked at 7:15 pm on Oct. 10.

Long says the family paid Hendricks's bond that evening. "The jail had told us that it's they can have 24 to 48 hours to process him out," she said.

The next time his mother saw him, he was in a coma.

"Antonio is heavily sedated, placed in a coma. Um, he's doing better. They didn't find any more bleeds in the brain, but he still has a long way to go," Long said.

How he ended up with his injuries remains a mystery, but his family is desperate for answers.

The Oklahoma City Police Department says their records indicate Hendricks had no injuries or medical needs when they took him to jail.

The spokesman for the jail, Mark Opgrande, says Hendricks was officially released from their custody at 2:25 pm on Oct. 11.

Less than 30 minutes later, Hendricks was unresponsive in a hospital bed.

"I was told by the physicians here at St. Anthony's that Antonio was transported via EMSA and that it was the jail that called and released him to EMSA," Long said.

Jail officials have provided little information on the case, telling us, "An individual who was recently booked into our facility was transported to the hospital upon release."

Opgrande says the jail is currently conducting an internal investigation.

Long says Hendricks' family has been left in the dark. "No mother wants to see their child lying in bed with tubes in their throat. My baby can't speak to me. As of right now, I can't even touch him. I can't kiss him because they don't want him agitated to cause him any further complications. So I'm just stuck here. I'm wondering, what may be my son's outcome?"