Kennedy in a car accident

Phlegmak

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http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/05/05/kennedy.accident/index.html

I noticed ultraconservatives didn't post this so I'm doing it for them.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy said Friday that he will enter a drug rehabilitation program after crashing his car on Capitol Hill a day earlier, CNN has learned.

Police labor union officials said earlier that officers were told not to give the Rhode Island Democrat a sobriety test after his traffic mishap.

Superiors told the officers instead to drive Kennedy home after the accident early Thursday, according to Greg Baird, acting chairman of the U.S. Capitol Police union, who called for an inquiry.

The Capitol Police said Friday that it's investigating the accident, the procedures followed and whether the evidence would support traffic charges.

Kennedy, son of Sen. Ted Kennedy, said Thursday he was apparently disoriented by prescription medication when he crashed his car into a barricade on Capitol Hill.

The lawmaker, 39, said police drove him home afterward but that he did not "ask for any special consideration."

Asked if he thought he got preferential treatment, Kennedy said, "That's up for the police to decide, and I'm going to cooperate fully with them."

Police reported seeing Kennedy's car swerve before the crash.

The police report, seen by CNN, includes an observation that Kennedy appeared to have been drinking and his ability was impaired.

"At no time before the incident did I consume any alcohol," Kennedy said in a statement.

The report shows Kennedy was cited for three infractions -- failure to keep a proper lane, unreasonable speed and failure to give full time and attention to the operation of a vehicle.

According to the report, Sgt. Kenneth Weaver said he saw Kennedy's vehicle "traveling at a high rate of speed in a construction zone and also swerving into the wrong lane of travel" with its lights off.

Weaver said Kennedy's vehicle hit a curb and swerved back into the wrong lane. He said he was driving east and used "evasive maneuvers in order to avoid a collision" with Kennedy's car.

The officer said he turned around and pursued Kennedy, whose car did not stop but did slow, "finally stopping after colliding head-on with a vehicle barrier."

The report said that when Weaver approached Kennedy he noticed that his "eyes were red and watery, speech was slightly slurred, and upon exiting his vehicle, his balance was unsure."

Officers at the scene said he appeared intoxicated, law enforcement and congressional officials said.

Baird said when two sergeants arrived at the accident scene after the initial two officers, they conferred with the watch lieutenant on duty.

Afterward, the sergeants told the other officers to drive Kennedy home. His car had been damaged, police said.

"I think he was extended a courtesy by virtue of his position," union President Lou Cannon told CNN. Cannon was not at the scene of the crash.

Capitol Police declined CNN's request for an interview Friday.
Lawmaker says medications caused him to be 'disoriented'

In a statement issued late Thursday after the initial media reports of the mishap, Kennedy said that he had returned home after final votes in the House of Representatives around midnight Wednesday and taken "the prescribed amount" of sleep aid Ambien and an anti-nausea drug.

The lawmaker identified that drug as Phenergan, "which in addition to treating gastroenteritis, I now know can cause drowsiness and sedation."

"Sometime around 2:45 a.m., I drove the few blocks to the Capitol complex believing I needed to vote," he said. "Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication."

The elder Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, said he had no comment.

Let's see Democrat liberal pinko commies spin that one! If liberals can attack Cheney for shooting his buddy in the face, then they must attack Kennedy for driving while under the influence of sleeping pills; otherwise, they're hypocrites.
 
And those were legal drugs, think what would have happened if he'd be smoking pot instead!! :eek:
 
A lot of figures in power get a break. Any conservative trying to "cash in" on this sort of thing is kidding themselves and don't really have anything to back it up. Yes, it is unfortunate that people in power are treated better than normal people. We can't do anything about.
 
Phlegmak said:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/05/05/kennedy.accident/index.html

I noticed ultraconservatives didn't post this so I'm doing it for them.



Let's see Democrat liberal pinko commies spin that one! If liberals can attack Cheney for shooting his buddy in the face, then they must attack Kennedy for driving while under the influence of sleeping pills; otherwise, they're hypocrites.

Heh, thanks! My observations are thus: He asserts he didnt drink any alcohol in this event - however, how can abusing drugs be any better?

Also, I heard on the radio that the police were forbidden from giving him a breathalyzer test? Is this a Kennedy only perk that I dont know about?

@Igloo: Abuse of legal drugs is still drug abuse. Just ask Rush Limbaugh.
 
CNN reports he's checking himself into a drug rehab program. Apparently it wasn't just one accidental over dosage of cold meds, but a long term problem. At least he's admitting his problem and getting help. Do you think he'll be next door to Rush Limbaugh at the clinic? That would be funny.
 
taper said:
CNN reports he's checking himself into a drug rehab program. Apparently it wasn't just one accidental over dosage of cold meds, but a long term problem. At least he's admitting his problem and getting help. Do you think he'll be next door to Rush Limbaugh at the clinic? That would be funny.

As an elected official I think he should resign his position if he has a drug problem.
 
MobBoss said:
Heh, thanks! My observations are thus: He asserts he didnt drink any alcohol in this event - however, how can abusing drugs be any better?

Also, I heard on the radio that the police were forbidden from giving him a breathalyzer test? Is this a Kennedy only perk that I dont know about?

@Igloo: Abuse of legal drugs is still drug abuse. Just ask Rush Limbaugh.

It is a Kennedy-only perk, but not for the reason you think: They blow a .10 minimum just from spending years at the Kennedy Compound. ;)

And Limbaugh has finally been charged with what, again? Doctor-shopping for 40 pills?
 
I think he should resign....period. Nothing he could say could change my mind on that. I think he should be charged with attempted murder...I guess there's no such thing as attempted manslaughter, which really is where I think DUI's should fall.

Driving impaired is, in fact, one of the biggest problems we don't here near enough about. There is absolutely NO valid excuse for it.

I've argued in this forum many times that DUI laws should be 10 times tougher than they are....100 times. Drive impaired, pay immediate and very stiff consequences.....other than just losing your license for a while.

I'm so tired of hearing about families being destroyed because some guy, with offense after offense (5, 10.....20!) gets behind the wheel and kills people.
 
MobBoss said:
As an elected official I think he should resign his position if he has a drug problem.
Then who's going to represent the addicts!
 
"which in addition to treating gastroenteritis, I now know can cause drowsiness and sedation."

Ah that would explain a LOT... sedition lol
 
MobBoss said:
Also, I heard on the radio that the police were forbidden from giving him a breathalyzer test? Is this a Kennedy only perk that I dont know about?
See the post directly above yours, MB. :mischief:
 
garric said:
A lot of figures in power get a break. Any conservative trying to "cash in" on this sort of thing is kidding themselves and don't really have anything to back it up. Yes, it is unfortunate that people in power are treated better than normal people. We can't do anything about.
Well, if we say "we can't do anything about [it]", then it will obviously continue! By not doing anything, we'll tacitly accepting the situation! People of his state should force a resignation.
 
MobBoss said:
As an elected official I think he should resign his position if he has a drug problem.


Although I consider myself a democrat, iawtp. He is now an embarrassment and a liability to the party. Let the republicans have the monopoly on this sort of thing.

just my humble opinion
 
Although I consider myself a democrat, iawtp. He is now an embarrassment and a liability to the party. Let the republicans have the monopoly on this sort of thing.
Let me just say it before someone else like MobBoss chimes in: Is now? :p
 
Phlegmak said:
I noticed ultraconservatives didn't post this so I'm doing it for them.
That's because it doesn't surprise us. Now, a Kennedy behind the wheel that's sober, on the other hand...
 
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