Rep. Patrick Kennedy Enters Drug Rehab

Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., speaks during a Capitol Hill news conference, Friday, May 5, 2006 where he said he was entering treatment for addiction to prescription pain medication, a decision made after a highly publicized car crash near the Capitol that the congressman said he cannot recall . (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP)

The congressman's father issued a statement saying he was proud of his son for admitting his problem and taking steps to correct it.

"He has taken full responsibility for events that occurred ... and he will continue to cooperate fully with any investigation," the elder Kennedy said.

According to the police report, Patrick Kennedy drove his green 1997 Ford Mustang convertible into a security barrier near the Capitol. The officer listed alcohol influence as a contributing factor in the crash and noted that Kennedy was "ability impaired," with red, watery eyes, slurred speech and unsteady balance.

However, Kennedy said that he took a sleeping pill and another drug that can cause drowsiness before the accident but had not been drinking alcohol.

Kennedy told the police officer he was "headed to the Capitol to make a vote," the report said. He was cited for failure to keep in the proper lane, traveling at "unreasonable speed" and failing to "give full time and attention" to operating his vehicle.

Kennedy spokeswoman Robin Costello acknowledged the police report but said in an e-mailed message, "The congressman has not been presented with those traffic tickets."

Louis P. Cannon, president of the Washington chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, who was not on the scene, said the officers involved in the accident were instructed by an official "above the rank of patrolman" to take Kennedy home and that no sobriety tests were conducted at the scene.

"I never asked for any preferential treatment," Kennedy told reporters as he left his congressional office Thursday night.

It was Kennedy's second auto crash in three weeks. His car struck the rear passenger door of a car while he was making a left turn from a roadway into a pharmacy in Portsmouth, R.I., according to a police report on the April 15 accident. No injuries were reported and Kennedy was not cited.

In the Capitol Hill accident, police observed Kennedy's car, with no headlights on, swerve into the wrong lane and strike a curb. Kennedy nearly hit a police car, the report said, and did not respond to the officer's efforts to pull him over. He continued at a slower speed before hitting a security barrier head-on, the report said.

Kennedy said that he'd gone home Wednesday evening after work and had taken "the prescribed amount" of Phenergan, a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness, and Ambien, a sleep medication.

The attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan on May 2 to treat Kennedy's gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and intestines. According to the drug's label, Phenergan can increase the effects of sleep medicines such as Ambien.

Kennedy was prescribed Ambien on April 25 for insomnia, according to a statement from Dr. John F. Eisold, the attending physician for Congress. Kennedy's office released the statement.

Ambien comes with a warning to patients that it can cause confusion, strange behavior and hallucinations. Also, it is to be taken only when patients have time for a full eight hours of sleep, allowing its effects to wear off, according to its Food and Drug Administration-approved label.

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Associated Press writer Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.