An Heir to a Legacy of Politics -- and Also Misfortune

For Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.), the early-morning crash of his Mustang convertible near the Capitol while in what he described as a prescription-drug-induced daze was the latest in a series of troubling incidents dating to his youth.

Kennedy, boyish-looking at 38 with his mop of red hair, has battled drug dependency and other health problems throughout his life. He suffers from chronic asthma, and while in his twenties he endured a 12-hour surgery to remove a tumor from his spinal column, requiring months of recovery time.

But the most persistent malady has been manic depression, which fostered addiction problems that trace to cocaine abuse during his teenage years. Over the last Christmas break, Kennedy spent three weeks at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., the same treatment center he returned to yesterday.

"He is an addictive personality," said one family friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Kennedy quit drinking during his winter stay at the clinic, according to the friend.

Kennedy, the son of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), grew up in McLean and had a somewhat troubled youth, including time spent in drug rehabilitation in 1986, the year before he enrolled at Providence College. Blessed with a famous family name, the young Kennedy entered Rhode Island politics when he was 21 and won election to the U.S. House in 1994.

Although he seemed on course to a promising political career in the footsteps of his liberal Democratic father and his uncles, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), the young Kennedy was dogged by addictions, depression and self-doubts. His family has wealth to match its renown. Kennedy once assured a Democratic audience that he did not need Republican tax cuts because "I have never worked a . . . day in my life."

Kennedy had a particularly bad year in 2000. In March, the same month he admitted he was being treated for depression, he had a run-in with a security guard at Los Angeles International Airport who informed Kennedy he would have to check a large carry-on bag. The security guard filed a battery suit, and Kennedy paid an undisclosed sum to settle the case.

That July, a girlfriend who was aboard a yacht with Kennedy called the Coast Guard asking to be picked up, after a heated argument between the couple. And in November, Kennedy was accused by a charter company of inflicting $28,000 in damage on a boat he had rented.

In Rhode Island, rumors flew this spring that something was amiss with Kennedy, who had been keeping a particularly low profile in recent months. He did attract attention three weeks ago, when he was attending an economic development meeting in Pawtucket. Wisconsin entrepreneur Matt Kriesel was demonstrating the shock absorption of a brand of gel when the hammer he was using flew apart and the head hit Kennedy in the mouth. Concerned about his addiction, Kennedy refused to take any pain medication when he received six stitches to his lower lip, according to a friend.

Around 2:45 a.m. Thursday, Kennedy crashed his car into a security barrier near the Capitol, and officers at the scene suspected he may have been intoxicated, according to a police union official. The congressman's office later said Kennedy was disoriented behind the wheel because he was taking prescription medications to calm stomach inflammation and to help him sleep. No one was injured, but Kennedy almost hit a Capitol Police car head-on before striking the security barrier, authorities said.

Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), who spoke with Kennedy about the crash, said his friend is "concerned no one is going to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"He's had his struggle with a life he didn't ask for but he has to accept," Moran said. "I think he wants more than anything to earn his father's respect and prove to his constituents in Rhode Island he's much more than someone who's getting by on the Kennedy name."