Kennedy Blames Accident on Sleep Medicine

AP ^ | 5/4/06 | ANDREW MIGA

[Jean S]

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) crashed his car near the Capitol early Thursday, and a police official said he appeared intoxicated. Kennedy said he had taken sleep medication and a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness.

Kennedy, D-R.I., addressed the issue after a spate of news reports. His initial statement said: "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident."'

Later, however, he issued a longer statement saying the attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan on Tuesday to treat Kennedy's gastroenteritis.

Kennedy said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after a final series of votes in Congress and took "prescribed" amounts of Phenergan and Ambien, another prescribed drug that he occasionally takes to fall asleep.

"Some time around 2:45 a.m., I drove the few blocks to the Capitol Complex believing I needed to vote," his second statement said. "Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication."

Kennedy appeared to be intoxicated when he crashed his Ford Mustand into a barrier on Capitol Hill early Thursday morning, said Louis P. Cannon, president of the Washington chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Cannon, who was not there, said the officers involved in the accident were instructed by an official "above the rank of patrolman" to take Kennedy home.

No sobriety tests were conducted at the scene.

A letter written by a Capitol Police officer to Acting Chief Christopher McGaffin said Kennedy appeared to be staggering when he left the vehicle after the crash about 3 a.m. The letter was first reported by Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

Kennedy said he was late for a vote, officer Greg Baird said in the letter to McGaffin. Baird is acting chairman of the Capitol Hill chapter of the FOP police union. The last vote of the night had occurred almost six hours earlier.

Kennedy said he was driven home by Capitol police.

"At no time did I ask for any special consideration," he said. "I simply complied with what the officers asked me to do."

Kennedy, the son of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., and his staff declined to discuss any further details of the accident. The congressman took part in House votes Thursday.

Capitol Police did not immediately return phone calls for comment. They issued a one-line statement saying they were investigating a traffic violation that occurred early in the morning at that location.

Baird wrote McGaffin that two sergeants who responded to the accident conferred with the watch commander and were ordered to leave the scene.

He said that after the officers left, Capitol Police officials gave Kennedy a ride home.

Kennedy spent time at a drug rehabilitation clinic before he went to Providence College. He has been open about mental health issues, including being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

___

Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.

[Joe_Davola]

Wise people (this excludes the dopes who vote for them, naturally) who don't want to be killed or injured give them the widest berth possible.


Widest girth possible? Now yer talking about Teddy!

[Non-Sequitur]

Kennedy Blames Accident on Sleep Medicine

Booze tends to make me drowsy, too.

[abb]

Looks like the Kennedy machine is in full cover up mode. They're gonna try and deny their way out of this thing. Ain't gonna work. It ain't 1969 anymore...

[Pylot]

Well at least nobody drowned!

[theDentist]

They forgot to mention his accident 2 weeks ago while hurrying to fill a prescription at a drug store in his district.

[MissEdie]

Like father like son

[areafiftyone]

ROFLMAO - I was reading some of those keywords! Too funny!

[Mo1]

Fox & Friends just reported that a waitress saw Patches drinking at a restaurant/bar the night of the car accident

I guess he'll be issuing other statement

[jimbo123]

He was drinking here:

http://www.hawkanddoveonline.com/

[mlc9852]

Good Morning America included that in their story this morning but not in much detail. Said no charges were filed against anyone.

[theDentist]

...no charges were filed against anyone.

Hmmm... just like yesterday. Coincidence, I'm sure.

[P-40]

Unless you are a Kennedy and and get a pass.

I liked his "I did not ask for special treatment" statement. Like a Kennedy is going to have to *ask* for special treatment.

[Ditter]

A well known doctor here in Houston just used Ambian and alcohol as an excuse as to why he was driving on the sidewalk and ran 2 women down. Don't remember the outcome of his trial.

[toldyou]

HA! I at first thought I was reading about this case...to my surprise, another Kennedy!

[toldyou]

LOL!

[twigs]

Does anybody know if there IS an "Ambien sleep-driving" defense?

Apparently there is. Dr. Manny talked about it this morning. But he mentioned that if that was true, then the police were negligent--they should have gotten him to an emergency room because they couldn't have known whether or not he was having a stroke or something more serious like that. My husband remarked that they probably didn't do that because they smelt alcohol on his breath, and sure enough, apparently one of the officers did report a "boozy" smell.

[MinuteGal]

Somewhere in the DC vicinity there's a bar tab signed that night by Patches. It's a certainty he used a credit card. I'm sure all the Kennedy's never carry cash, like the Queen of England. Will this tab or any others surface?

By the way, didn't he damage city property? Who pays for that?

Why is it I always know the answers to my own questions when it comes to the Kennedy's?

Leni

[TheForceOfOne]

Sorry, we need to take a detour before hitting happy hour, Jr's in trouble again. I hope he's handling this like his daddy would.

Hold on Jr. daddy's coming!

[twigs]

Cynthia might have a case for racism here. She gets charged, Rep. Pat Kennedy, a White male, gets a pass and cover up from the Capitol Hill police.

My husband and I talked about this this morning. Her problem is that she struck a police officer. Had he done that, he would be up on charges too. Remember, she wasn't charged right away and we still don't know what will happen to her. Hopefully, an investigation will follow here too. The problem is, of course, that he has had time to get the alcohol out of his system and beat drunk driving charges.

[twigs]

thought he needed to vote(nobody was buying that story)

Someone mentioned on F&F this AM that a Member of Congress cannot be arrested on the way to voting. This must be a pre-thought out stock defense to keep himself out of trouble when caught under the influence.