Update:
Rep. Patrick Kennedy reaches DUI plea deal
Congressman crashed his car near the U.S. Capitol last month
WASHINGTON - Rep. Patrick Kennedy reached a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of prescription drugs in connection with his middle-of-the-night car crash last month near the U.S. Capitol.
Two additional charges of reckless driving and failure to exhibit a driving permit will be dismissed under the plea agreement.
Announcing the agreement, Kennedy's chief of staff, Sean Richardson, said the Rhode Island Democrat would appear in District of Columbia Superior Court Tuesday afternoon "to accept the consequences of his actions."
"He is looking forward to closing this chapter," Richardson said. "He's feeling great and is expected to be back to work."
Addiction treatment
Kennedy returned to Congress last week after nearly a month of treatment for addiction to prescription pain drugs at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
The six-term congressman, who has struggled with addiction since high school, had entered the clinic one day after the May 4 crash on Capitol Hill that he said he could not remember.
The accident has raised questions about whether Kennedy, 38, was drinking and had received special treatment by police, who did not conduct field sobriety tests. Kennedy has denied consuming alcohol before the crash.
In the hours before the crash, Kennedy said he returned home from work and took a sleeping pill, Ambien, and Phenergan, a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness. He said he did not consume alcohol.
Kennedy crashed his green 1997 Ford Mustang convertible into a security barrier near the Capitol about 3 a.m. 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, according to the accident report.
Special treatment claims denied
Police did not conduct field sobriety tests on Kennedy. A police union official has said the officers involved in the accident were instructed by a superior to take the congressman home. Kennedy has denied asking for special treatment.
Police had 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 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's office has said that it has not received those initial citations.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13297187/