Rep. Kennedy entering rehab

WASHINGTON – Rep. Patrick Kennedy said Friday he was entering treatment for addiction to prescription pain drugs after a middle-of-the-night car crash near the Capitol that he said he had no memory of. “That’s not how I want to live my life,” he declared.

Kennedy, D-R.I., the son of Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, said he would seek immediate treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

His one-car accident about 3 a.m. Thursday was the talk of the capital, with police saying he appeared to be intoxicated but Kennedy saying later that day that he had had nothing to drink.

For Kennedy, who said he has suffered from depression and pain-medication addiction for years, the trip to the Mayo Clinic was his second in less than five months. He went there over Christmas and said he returned to Congress “reinvigorated and healthy.”

“I’ve been fighting this chronic disease since I was a young man, and have aggressively and periodically sought treatment so that I can live a full and productive life,” he said at a Capitol Hill news conference. “Of course, in every recovery, each day has its ups and downs, but I have been strong, focused and productive since my return.” Kennedy said he realized he needed to seek treatment again after he crashed his car. Capitol Police cited him with three traffic violations and said Friday their investigation was continuing. Kennedy promised to cooperate with police.

The accident sparked allegations that Kennedy was drinking and had received special treatment by police. He said he could not recall the accident.