- Rep. Lantos ticketed following accident at Capitol
Crime/Corruption News Keywords: HIT AND RUN LANTOS BLAMES CHILD
Source: AP
Published: May 4, 2000 | 3:12 p.m.
Posted on 05/04/2000 13:55:22 PDT by HAL9000WASHINGTON (AP) -- California Rep. Tom Lantos was ticketed after his car struck and slightly injured a 10-year-old boy in front of the Capitol.
Lantos was driving on the East Front Plaza at about Wednesday morning as a large group walked across the pavement. As he inched through the crowd, Lantos' car hit the boy's ankle, police said.
``One of the kids, who was playing or fooling around or just didn't see, stepped in front of the car, stumbled and walked away,'' said Lantos, a 10-term Democrat who represents part of San Francisco and San Mateo County.
An officer from the Capitol Police waved Lantos through the area to clear the scene and the congressman drove to his office in the Rayburn House Office Building across the street.
Police later went to Lantos' office and gave him a $25 ticket for ``failure to pay full time and attention.''
The boy, whose name was not disclosed, was treated at the scene, police said.
Lantos said he would not dispute the ticket even though he does not believe he was at fault. He also said he called the boy's family and invited them to lunch.