Congressman Kennedy blames accident on medications

[MADem]

May 5, 2006

WASHINGTON --Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy says he'd taken a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness, but consumed no alcohol, before crashing his car near the Capitol.

In a statement, Kennedy, D-R.I., said the attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan to treat Kennedy's gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and intestines.

Kennedy said that after working Wednesday evening he went home and took "prescribed" amounts of Phenergan and Ambien, another drug that he sometimes takes to fall asleep.

In his statement, Kennedy said he was apparently disoriented from the drugs when he got up a little before 3 a.m. Thursday and drove to the Capitol thinking he needed to be present for a vote....more at http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/05/05/congressman_kennedy_blames_accident_on_medications?mode=PF

My first thought when I heard this story was that he was plastered and bullshitting about it. Now it's looking like he actually might have had one of those famous "Ambien moments." I've read about people who end up at WALMART maxing out their credit cards at three in in the morning in their pajamas, but this is the first instance of a famous person getting wrapped up in an incident involving the drug that I'm aware of.

[Kutjara]

1. He's lucky...

...he crashed when he did. If he'd been discovered shopping in WalMart, it could have caused a real scandal. :)

[Moderator]

2. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2264754