Keith Girard
Kerry Kennedy, sister of Robert F. Kennedy Jr was arrested in upstate New York this morning and charged with driving under the influence of drugs after she crashed into a semi-tractor trailer, according to reports.
Kennedy told the police she had taken ambien, a powerful prescription sleeping pill that can cause hallucinations. Kennedy was charged with driving while impaired by drugs, according to the police.
The drug infamously surfaced in the Tiger Woods sex scandal, when one of his mistresses, New York party girl Rachel Uchitel, said she and Woods had ambien-fueled sex.
Kerry, 52, and Bobby Jr. are the children of Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 in the midst of his campaign for President. His children have been troubled ever since.
She graduated from Brown University and has a law degree from Boston College. She was married to Andrew Cuomo, now New York’s governor, from 1991 until their divorce in 2003.
Bobby Jr. has suffered from drug and alcohol abuse and was once arrested for possession of heroin. He’s been involved in a bitter divorce that resulted in the suicide of his estranged wife Mary Richardson Kennedy in May.
Whether the stress of dealing with Bobby Jr.’s divorce was a factor in Kerry Kennedy’s drug use is unknown. The state police said in a statement that they received a 9-1-1 call at around 8am this morning involving a woman driving a 2008 Lexus in an “erratic” manner, according to gossip site TMZ.
The vehicle fled the scene without stopping. By the time police tracked down car, it sitting on the side of a nearby with damage and a flat tire. Kerry was behind the wheel, according to television station WABC in New York City.
Kennedy’s spokesman Ken Sunshine said Kennedy “voluntarily took breathalyzer, blood and urine tests – all of which showed no drugs or alcohol whatsoever in her system. The charges were filed before the test results were available,” he added.
Robert Kennedy had 11 children.