Patrick J. Kennedy
Encyclopedia : P : PA : PAT : Patrick J. Kennedy
- Patrick Joseph Kennedy was also the name of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.'s father.
- For other people named , see
- In 2003, drew fire from his critics when he jokingly said that "I have never worked a [bleeping] day in my life."
May 2006 Capitol Hill accident
On May 4, 2006, Kennedy crashed his 1997 Ford Mustang convertible into a barricade on Capitol Hill at 2:45AM. He had been operating his vehicle with the lights off in the early morning darkness. Officers at the scene said that Kennedy appeared intoxicated, smelled of alcohol and was visibly staggering, but Kennedy claimed that he was merely disoriented from prescription medications Ambien and Phenergan. A woman who works at the nearby Hawk & Dove bar said that he had been drinking there. A second report cites the capitol police have additional "witnesses" to Kennedy's drinking at the Hawk & Dove before the crash.
Kennedy also stated to officers that he was "late for a vote." However, the last vote of the night had occurred almost six hours earlier. The standard field sobriety test was not administered. Kennedy was driven home by an officer. On May 5, 2006, Kennedy admitted he has an addiction to prescription medication and announced he would be re-admitting himself to a drug rehabilitation facility at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota where he has sought treatment for prior addictions. He has stated that he has no recollection of the car crash. On June 5, 2006 Kennedy was released from drug rehab.
Kennedy has stated that he does not plan to resign. Currently his constituents have been supportive of Kennedy#redirect , however, the chairwoman for the Rhode Island Republican Party has suggested that Kennedy resign, or at least take a medical leave of absence.
On May 8, 2006, Kennedy received endorsement of the Rhode Island Democratic Party.
In an earlier incident, on April 15, 2006, at 10:05 a.m., Patrick J. Kennedy was driving a Ford Crown Victoria registered to the "Friends of Pat Kennedy Inc" on Turnpike Avenue. As Patrick attempted to turn left into the CVS parking lot, his vehicle was "broadsided" by a Nissan Maxima driven by off duty Coast Guard warrant officer Thomas Guthlein who was attempting to make a right turn into the same parking lot. Portsmouth Rhode Island police did not issue a citation to either driver.Portsmouth Rhode Island Police [Accident Report #06-157-AC] One woman who witnessed the accident has expressed her opinion that Kennedy was impaired. Guthlein is quoted in the New York Daily News as saying 'I never really got that close to him ... It was just a regular traffic accident'.
Kennedy made news on the Drudge Report multiple times for the accident outside the capital, including being quoted as saying he hoped officials would treat him as if he "were an African-American in Anacostia".
On June 13, 2006, Kennedy made a deal with prosecutors and plead guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of prescription drugs. Patrick will be serving one year probation and paying a fine of $350. Two of the three charges (reckless driving and failure to exhibit a driving permit) were dismissed.
On July 13, 2006, The Roll Call newspaper reported that Kennedy is now adhering to a court-ordered rehabilitation program that includes, 'weekly urine tests, twice-weekly meetings with a probation officer, near-daily Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and a weekly meeting of recovering addicts'.[link]
References
External links
- [Patrick Joseph Kennedy's official House of Representatives webpage]
- [record maintained by the Washington Post]
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