Another Kennedy car crash

**Hurin_Rules** · 05-05-2006, 06:11

I include this because, if you've ever seen the excellent documentary, "Taking on the Kennedys", you'll know how much of a doofus this guy is.

Conservatives note that I'm attacking a fellow liberal. I call them as I see them.

Rep. Kennedy blames crash on sleep medicine
R. I. Democrat says combination of prescription meds led to accident in D.C.

Updated: 10:22 p.m. ET May 4, 2006
WASHINGTON - Rep. Patrick Kennedy 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.”

Police noted Kennedy staggering
Kennedy appeared to be intoxicated when he crashed his Ford Mustang 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.

‘I simply complied’
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, 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.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12634639/

**discovery1** · 05-05-2006, 06:22

No sobriety tests were conducted at the scene.

Who here thinks he was drunk?

I do.

**Papewaio** · 05-05-2006, 06:34

Well his posts earlier in the backroom certainly were under the influence. Sorry DA I had to out your real ID.

**Major Robert Dump** · 05-05-2006, 09:34

I dont have any idea what the previous post meant but....

I'd rather go hunting with Dick than driving with a Kennedy

**Proletariat** · 05-05-2006, 13:09

The Rhode Island Democrat said that drug was Phenergan, "which in addition to treating gastroenteritis, I now know can cause drowsiness and sedation."

What a dope. This guy takes Ambien, an incredibly confusing and powerful sleeping pill, and then says he now knows Phenergan can cause drowsiness and sedation? Wtf did he think a prescription strength sleeping-aid like Ambien would do? Make him clear headed and spry?

**Vladimir** · 05-05-2006, 13:15

Well the apple certainly doesn't fall from the tree...in less it's had a few too many and gets behind the wheel.

Does anybody here who's been in law enforcement or knows any cops think this is odd? This kind of stuff happens all the time, even happened once to my white trash brother (minus the wreck). It seems like the police union is just using this as a political football against the department.