NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) – Kerry Kennedy, the ex-wife of
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and a daughter of Robert F.
Kennedy, was arrested after a traffic accident on Friday on
charges of driving while impaired by drugs, the state police
said.
Kennedy, 52, was found seated behind the wheel of a white
Lexus at about 8 a.m. in the Westchester County town of North
Castle.
“911 calls reported a white vehicle operating in an erratic
manner in the southbound lanes south of exit 4 that collided
with a tractor-trailer,” police said in a statement.
“State Police arrived and a subsequent investigation found
Kennedy to be operating the motor vehicle while her ability was
impaired by drugs,” the statement said without giving further
details.
A spokesman for Kennedy, Ken Sunshine, said Kennedy was not
impaired.
“Kerry 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,” Sunshine said.
The accident came two months after Kennedy’s sister-in-law
and close friend, Mary Kennedy, took her own life. At the time,
Kerry Kennedy spoke emotionally about Mary Kennedy’s battle with
alcoholism and depression.
“She was battling, battling those demons and keeping them
out of the paradise that was Mary,” Kerry Kennedy said at the
time.
Mary Kennedy was the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy
Jr., the son of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of
the late President John F. Kennedy.
Kerry Kennedy was ordered to appear in court on July 17.
(Reporting by Edith Honan and Lily Kuo; editing by Cynthia
Johnston and Mohammad Zargham)
