WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Patrick Kennedy has confirmed that he drove his car into a street-side barrier two blocks from the Capitol building early this morning.
The Rhode Island Democrat denied that alcohol played a factor in the 2:45 a.m. incident. He was not hurt.
"I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident. I will fully cooperate with the Capitol police in whatever investigation they choose to undertake," Kennedy said through spokeswoman Robin Costello.
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Kennedy, the son of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., was driving his green Mustang from his home in southeast Washington several blocks to the capitol complex, according to his chief of staff, Sean Richardson, who would not say why the congressman was out so late.
The accident took place near Kennedy’s office at the intersection of 1st and C Streets, SE.
When asked if medication may have contributed to the crash, Richardson would not comment. The 38-year-old congressman has gone public with his battle against manic depression and previously said he has taken anti-depressants.
A union official within the Capitol Police, Gregrey H. Baird, has complained to his superiors that some police officers who had responded to the incident were barred from giving Kennedy a field sobriety test, even though he was allegedly staggering.
In a letter to acting Police Chief Christopher McGaffin, Baird said that Kennedy nearly crashed into a police cruiser before the crash.
“The driver declared to them that he was a congressman and was late to a vote,” Baird writes. “The House had adjourned nearly three hours before this incident. It was Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy from Rhode Island.”
Two sergeants who responded to the scene soon ordered the patrol officers away from the scene, according to Baird, who noted that Kennedy was then driven home.
A 1991 Providence College graduate, Kennedy makes his Rhode Island home in Portsmouth.
Last month, Kennedy was involved in a collision in Portsmouth, as he was making a left turn from the northbound lanes of Turnpike Avenue into the CVS parking lot. The passenger side of his car was struck by a southbound auto. Kennedy told the police that he saw the southbound car but thought he had enough time to complete the turn. No one was injured in the crash.
He has been involved in some highly-publicized incidents in recent years, including a tussle over luggage with a Los Angeles Airport security screener to a misadventure with a charter sailboat, which he was accused of trashing. Both were in 2000.
He's also served as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and now sits on the House Appropriations Committee.
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