What Was Patrick Kennedy Thinking?

Patrick Joseph Kennedy, Rhode Island congressman and son of Ted Kennedy, was involved in a car accident last week in the wee hours of the morning. Witnesses said he was travelling very quickly and was unable to keep his car in one lane. At 2:45am he drove his car into a security barrier near the Capitol. When he exited the vehicle he seemed drunk and was unable to stand steady. His eyes were red and watery, and his speech was slurred.

Pat Kennedy's parking spot at the Capitol

Kennedy claimed to have been on the way to take a vote. He later addmitted having gone home and taken Phenergan and Ambien. He denied any consumption of alcohol, although there are people who claim they saw him drinking earlier on. Police were instructed by higher-ups not to take a sobriety test, and to drive him home (what happened to the vote?). In his statement, Kennedy said the drugs had caused him to believe that he was supposed to be at a vote at 3:00am. Why was he up at 3:00am, isn't the Ambien supposed to keep him asleep? Especially since he was also taking Phenergan, which increases the potentcy of Ambien.

Kennedy has a history he should be aware of. He comes from a clan which has been struck by many catastrophies. Ordinary people shouldn't drive vehicles or operate machinary while they are impaired - regardless of the cause of their impairment (i.e. alcohol or drugs). Pat Kennedy should be more cautious than the rest of us, just as someone with a family history of heart disease needs to take precautions to avoid a heart attack. Or perhaps he was just trying to emulate his father's actions?