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.

[Txsleuth]

I bet if he doesn't have anything else happen to him re: the police...

Rep. Cynthia McKinney is gonna scream bloody murder about "selective enforcement"..and drag out the racism card again...

[blackbart.223]

"Hmmmm. Sleep medicine, huh? Why was he even driving then?"

Because he is a Kennedy and The Kennedys get passes when you and I won't.

Go figure

[khnyny]

http://image.pathfinder.com/time/time100/artists/video/lucyvita.mov

Vitameatavegamin health tonic. After four takes Lucy's "happy" but not very "peppy."

Poor Patches, had too much AmbienPhenerganmedicine, and like Lucy, was "happy", but not very "peppy", lol.

[Hilltop]

Third time, pedal....sigh.

:)

[RasterMaster]

Father taught him all he knows....

The Hardball video http://www.exposetheleft.com/2006/05/04/mcardle-kennedy/

[gov_bean_ counter]

Best so far.

[not2worry]

My husband takes Ambien and if taken as directed it's affects are normally worn off in a couple of hours. I think the drug was specifically made to induce sleep, not to keep you unconscious until morning.

They guy has probably picked up the "ambien" story on some recent TV magazine series touting the side effects of ambien, which IMHO and our physicians is a pretty rare side effect. Wonder how long he's been taking Ambien and why all of a sudden it's creating a convenient problem for him.

[Fruitbat]

Some pigs are more equal than others!

[RasterMaster]

He's wrecked 2 cars in two weeks...one back in his district.

[gov_bean_ counter]

So that is what one of those Star Wars storm troopers looks like with the helmet off.

[sam_paine]

Ran his car aground.

Man, that's some good stuff. To think a cop car is a river. Gotta get me a bottle of that!

[fortunecookie]

I've heard recent reports of the zombie or wakeful sleep in those using it correctly. This mixing of Adderall and Ambien is a new one to me, I'd heard of them separately, but now even worse. Scary stuff. I wonder if we'll ever know if he was actually drunk or high or both or just an accidental side effect of the sleep drug. Still, admitting he took it before getting in his car does not point in his favor, as an 'accidental' thing.

[Arizona Carolyn]

You weren't alone in the assumption... his mother is an alcoholic, too... Patrick doesn't have the odds with him on this one.

[jneesy]

ambien is tough stuff it and 2 valium killed my 23 year old first wife. simply went to sleep and never woke up

[airedale]

He's admitting he was driving under the influence of drugs (it doesn't matter if they are legal or not and if they are prescribed or not) which resulted in an accident. Seems like a ticket is in order.

[Richard Kimball]

You take Sally,
I'll take Sue.
There ain't no difference between the two.
Cocaine; it's running all around my brain.
Umhmmm Mamma, come here quick.
That old cocaine bout to make me sick.
Cocaine. It's running all around my brain.

[Tiberius109]

again , it wouldn't be very hard at all to check his story. find the doctor , find the record of the perscription being written ,purchased etc..Only problem is they probably tampered with any evidence already and paid off anyone who saw that POS in the bar that night .

[blackbart.223]

"Wonder how long he's been taking Ambien and why all of a sudden it's creating a convenient problem for him."

Just A BS story to put his butt out of the fire. Clinton, Kennedy. Cut from the same cloth.

[Tiberius109]

aaaa animal Farm ...good one man ..

[Biblebelter]

This seals the deal for me. When it comes to the infamous crime families in America such the Corleones, the Sopranos, and the Kennedys, you have rate the Kennedys at the bottom. I go with Sopranos as number one, the Corleones as number two, and the Kennedys last actually below the Scarfo family which was the gang that couldn't shoot straight.