The Rhode Island congressman says he was apparently disoriented from medication.

01:33 PM EDT on Friday, May 5, 2006

BY STEVE PEOPLES and JOHN E. MULLIGAN
projo.com staff writer and Journal Washington Bureau writer

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy received three "notices of infractions" in connection with his car crash early yesterday morning near the Capitol, according to a police report.

The report by a U.S. Capitol Police officer said Kennedy drove his green 1997 Ford Mustang convertible into a security barrier near the Capitol shortly before 3 a.m., and that Kennedy had red, watery eyes, slurred speech and unsteady balance.

The Rhode Island Democrat, 38, told the officer he was "headed to the Capitol to make a vote," the report said. It said he failed to keep in the proper lane, traveled at "unreasonable speed" and failed to "give full time and attention" to operating his vehicle.

Kennedy said last night that he was under the influence of medication when he crashed the car. He was not hurt.

The handling of the accident prompted an immediate complaint of preferential treatment for the congressman from a union official with the U.S. Capitol police, who also alleged that officers on the scene said Kennedy displayed signs of intoxication.

It has also drawn national attention. Kennedy is the son of U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and the nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy, making him a member of one of the most famous families in the country.

The congressman's own history includes incidents such as a run-in with an aiport security guard, a misadventure with a chartered yacht, and, more recently, a minor traffic accident in Portsmouth, where he makes his Rhode Island home.

AP photo

The Rhode Island Democrat was driving his green Mustang convertible, photographed this morning on Capitol Hill, when he crashed into a traffic barrier early yesterday.

Kennedy last night denied drinking alcohol before the accident and said he had taken two separate prescribed medications -- one for nausea and another to help him sleep -- after getting home after midnight, according to his chief of staff, Sean Richardson.

He couldn't explain why Kennedy, who was alone in the vehicle, later drove from his home in southeast Washington several blocks to the Capitol believing he had to take part in a congressional vote.

Kennedy says he will be returning to Rhode Island today and will be available to the media for comments.

"Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication," Kennedy said in a written statement Richardson distributed to reporters waiting outside his Washington office at about 9:30 last night.

Earlier this morning, his office acknowledged a police report was filed, but Kennedy spokeswoman Robin Costello told The Associated Press, "We have no knowledge of any citations."

Kennedy aides received the accident report this morning at his congressional office, said Costello, who is Kennedy's spokeswoman in Rhode Island. They were reviewing it, she said.

NEWS OF THE accident surfaced when a union official within the Capitol Police sent a letter to his superiors claiming that Kennedy nearly collided with a police cruiser and was later "observed to be staggering."

"As they approached him, the driver declared to them that he was a congressman and was late to a vote," Gregrey H. Baird, acting chairman of the Capital Police's Labor Committee, said in the letter. "The House had adjourned nearly three hours before this incident."

Baird wrote that two sergeants arrived on the scene and after a brief conference with the watch commander, ordered all the other officers to leave.

"Patrol division officers on the scene who are trained in driving under the influence cases were not allowed to perform even basic field sobriety tests," Baird wrote, noting that he learned that Kennedy was then driven home. "If the events unfolded as they have been reported to me, and I believe they did, a complete and immediate investigation into them is required."

A Capitol Police spokesman did not return a phone message left yesterday seeking comment. In a brief press release on its Web site, the police department confirmed it is investigating "a traffic violation" that occurred early yesterday morning on the corner of 1st and C streets, SE. It does not name the congressman.

The incident comes a month after a political uproar over a scuffle between a Capitol police officer and Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney, D-Ga. The police said she had struck the officer after he tried to prevent her from entering a House office building without going through a security checkpoint.

McKinney, who is black, said she had been a victim of racial bias, but later, on the House floor, she apologized for her scuffle with the officer, who is white.

IN HIS STATEMENT, Kennedy said that last week he was treated for gastroenteritis by the attending congressional physician, who prescribed Phenergan, an anti-nausea medication. He said he has since learned that the drug "can cause drowsiness and sedation."

Journal file photo

Rep. Patrick Kennedy

Related links

View a map of the area where the accident occurred

Find out more about Ambien, from its distributor

Find out more about Phenergan, from its maker

More about Kennedy from his Web site ...

Kennedy said he took the prescribed amount of Phenergan and the sleeping medication Ambien when he returned home after a series of congressional votes late Wednesday night. Then, he said he drove to the Capitol at 2:45 a.m., believing he had to vote.

According to the medical Web site WebMD.com, promethazine, the generic name for Phenergan, is used to prevent and treat nausea and vomiting related to certain conditions, such as motion sickness. It is also used to treat allergic symptoms such as rash, itching, and runny nose.

The Web site lists potential side effects as drowsiness, dizziness, constipation, blurred vision, or dry mouth.

Zolpidem, the generic name for Ambien, is used to treat sleep problems, according to the Web site. It may help the user fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Zolpidem belongs to a class of drugs called sedative/hypnotics. It acts on the brain to produce a calming effect. This medication is usually limited to short-term treatment periods of one to two weeks or less.

The Web site lists possible side effects as dizziness, lightheadedness, headache, upset stomach, diarrhea, and dry mouth.

In addition, there have been numerous news reports of Ambien users sometimes sleepwalking into their kitchens and clawing through their refrigerators like animals and consuming calories ranging into the thousands.

The next morning, the night eaters remember nothing about their foraging. But they wake up to find telltale clues: mouthfuls of peanut butter, Tostitos in their beds, kitchen counters overflowing with flour, missing food, and even lighted ovens and stoves.

Ambien, the nation's best-selling prescription sleeping pill, is also showing up with regularity as a factor in traffic arrests, sometimes involving drivers who later say they were sleep-driving and have no memory of taking the wheel after taking the drug.

In some state toxicology laboratories, Ambien makes the top 10 list of drugs found in impaired drivers. Wisconsin officials identified Ambien in the bloodstreams of 187 arrested drivers from 1999 to 2004.

KENNEDY'S OFFICE would not expand on the statement last night, even as a horde of television cameras and reporters gathered outside his Cannon building office waiting into the night. A staffer was observed entering the office with a bag of takeout food shortly after 8 p.m.

Outside the building, Kennedy's sea-green Mustang with Rhode Island license plates was parked on the street, still bearing evidence of the collision. The front-right blinker was broken, the right front bumper had traces of white paint on a slight dent, while two-foot-by-two foot dents marred the right rear of the vehicle.

Yesterday's car accident was the second in the past month for Kennedy, who suffers from manic depression and has a history of substance abuse. The congressman, who makes his home in Portsmouth, was making a left turn not far from his home April 15 when another car hit the passenger side of his car.

While Kennedy's personal life has remained largely out of the news in recent years, the Providence College graduate, who has served in Congress since 1994, is no stranger to high-profile incidents.

In 2000, he made national headlines when he shoved a security guard at Los Angeles International Airport. The guard complained of suffering from "excruciating pain" after falling against a metal detector, but Kennedy was eventually cleared of criminal charges.

Later that year, the congressman was rescued off Martha's Vineyard when a leased sailboat was stranded. In what became a public quarrel, the owner later blamed Kennedy for "trashing" the vessel.

In the statement released last night, Kennedy said at no time did he ask the Capitol Police for special treatment. "I was instructed to park my car and was driven home by the United States Capitol Police," he said. "I simply complied with what the officers asked me to do."

Kennedy said he contacted the Capitol Police yesterday regarding the accident.

He "offered to meet with police representatives at their earliest convenience as I intend to cooperate fully with any investigation they choose to take."

Kennedy emerged from his office at about 10:15 last night with Richardson at his side, walked down a hallway past the media and slipped into an elevator. He left the basement garage in Richardson's SUV and drove past his damaged convertible.

Material from The New York Times and the Associated Press was used in this report.

speoples@projo.com / (401) 277-7459

jmulligan@belo-dc.com / (202) 661-8423