|
Email Tweet John Bryson, Commerce Secretary crashes car, had seizure officialssay Originally published: June 11, 2012 6:28 AM Updated: June 11, 2012 7:41 PM By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo credit: Getty Images US Secretary of Commerce John Bryson answers a question from the media in this November 21, 2011 filephoto at a press conference during the 22nd session of the China -US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) talks in Chengdu.Secretary John Bryson was under investigation on June 11, 2012 in connection to twoseparate accidents in California involving his car and two othervehicles, police said. A statement released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Bryson was in the driver's seatof a Lexus which rear-ended another car waiting at a railway crossing in thecity of San Gabriel on Saturday. According to the statement, Brysonspoke with the three males in the damaged car and then drove away,hitting their Buick again in the process. SAN GABRIEL, Calif. - A succession of small fender benders over theweekend raises questions about whether U.S. Commerce Secretary JohnBryson has a medical or legal problem or both. The bizarre series of events happened Saturday afternoon whenBryson hit a car stopped for a train twice then rammed intoanother vehicle a few minutes later. He was found unconscious inhis car, and government officials said Monday he had a seizure,which could play a role in whether he's charged with felonyhit-and-run. It wasn't clear whether the medical episode preceded or followedthe collisions, but Bryson hasn't suffered a seizure before, said adepartment official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discussthe secretary's medical history. Bryson has a "limited recall of the events," the official said. The crashes drew attention because of health concerns involving amember of the U.S. Cabinet, as well as the challenge investigatorsface when trying to determine if someone should be held criminallyresponsible because of adverse health. Bryson, 68, was driving alone in a Lexus in San Gabriel, a community of about 40,000 northeast of Los Angeles , when he struck the rear of a vehicle that had stopped for apassing train, authorities said. He spoke briefly with the three occupants and then hit their caragain as he departed, investigators said. They followed him whilecalling police. He was cited for felony hit-and-run, although he has not beencharged. Bryson then struck a second car in the nearby city of Rosemead,where he was found unconscious in his car, authorities said. Bryson has returned to Washington after a brief hospital stay,department spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman said. President Barack Obama said he found out about the crashes Monday but hasn't yet spokenwith Bryson. "And my hope is that he's doing all right," he told KTIV-TV in Sioux City , Iowa . "It sounds like it was health-related in some way. But we'regoing to make sure that obviously he gets the best care, and we'llbe able to make a determination from there." Officials said Bryson was not on state business, was driving apersonal car and did not have a security detail at the time. He took a Breathalyzer test that didn't detect any alcohol, butinvestigators were awaiting the results from a blood test, said LosAngeles County sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker . Commerce officials said he was given medication to treat theseizure. Paramedics treated two people in the first collision forpain, but a couple involved in the second crash declined medicalaid. The case was being reviewed by sheriff's investigators and willlikely be submitted to prosecutors in the coming days. "In most cases, it is presented to the DA's office to make adecision," sheriff's Lt. Margarito Robles said. Defense attorney Steve Meister said "it's difficult to assigncriminal liability when someone was medically unconscious. Theyhave to be aware what was happening." Meister said he has represented people who have been involved incrashes while having seizures. He recalled how one woman struckanother vehicle and didn't remember anything. No one was injured, but the woman was arrested for investigation ofdriving under the influence because she was acting disoriented,Meister said. The woman didn't have any drugs or alcohol in hersystem, but she pleaded to a misdemeanor crime. "It turns out she had a history (of seizures)," Meister said. "If Iwas (Bryson's) lawyer, I would try to find all the evidence therewas to back up what he's already said." The episode is consistent with someone who has suffered a series of epileptic seizures , said Dr. Jerome Engel Jr., a neurologist at the University of California, Los Angeles , who is not involved in Bryson's care. After a seizure, a person is often confused, and that state ofconfusion can last for a while. "You may even seem to be alert and awake, but you're not reallybehaving normally," Engel said. Under California law, a doctor has to report a patient whocomplains of lapses of consciousness or whose epileptic seizurespose an impairment to driving. In those cases, a person can't driveunless he's been seizure-free for three months. Bryson had been in California to deliver the commencement addressThursday at Pasadena Polytechnic School, where his four children attended. The K-12school said he urged students to pursue their passions, to servetheir country, and to value their education and friendships. Obama swore in the former utility executive as the head of the Commerce Department in October, after easily overcoming conservatives' objections thathis pro-environmental views made him unsuited for the job. As secretary, Bryson is a member of the president's economic teamand has advised on energy issues. He is the former head of Edison International , the holding company that owns Southern California Edison, and hasserved on boards of major corporations, including the Boeing Co. and the Walt Disney Co. He helped oversee Edison's transformation into a leading wind andsolar company and launched a plan to turn 65 million square feet ofunused commercial rooftops into solar power stations with enoughelectricity for more than 160,000 homes. Meister believes the case will be sent to prosecutors for review,because "it will ensure a full investigation because no one willwant to be accused of sweeping this under the rug." "If there is a reject (of charges), the sheriff will want the DA toshare in the responsibility of that decision," he said. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Thismaterial may not be published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed. I am an expert from wirerope-electrichoist.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Polyester Sling Manufacturer , Electric Chain Hoist Manufacturer, Industrial Electric Hoist,and more.
Related Articles -
Polyester Sling Manufacturer, Electric Chain Hoist Manufacturer,
|
