It is no accident Patches used this particular excuse. It is not lawful for any local law enforcement officer to detain a member of Congress while he is on his way to carry out his duties at the Capitol. You can bet your bottom dollar that Patches' lawyers told him to always use this explanation when stopped by the Police. He was just parroting it back, except he failed to realize it made no sense at 3:00 AM.
That's because he had no idea it was 3:00 a.m........
The barrier he apparently hit blocks the street that leads to the garages under the House office buildings where members park. Kennedy must have been trying to get back there and had no idea how late it was and forgot that the barriers go up after hours. I'll bet he turned the corner at a fairly high rate of speed and just ran into the barrier. He must have been pretty wigged out to not have known how late it was or forgotten about the barriers.