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Kennedy Car Crash; Left For Dead; Cut Summer Travel Cost Tips

Aired May 05, 2006 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That's all the time we have for this entire week of AMERICAN MORNING.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it is. No sweater words have been said.

Let's get right to Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center.

Hey, Daryn, good morning.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Don't let me keep you from your weekend. I think I hear it calling your name right now.

MILES O'BRIEN: It is.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: OK. Yes, you do.

MILES O'BRIEN: Hello. Yes, I hear it. I hear it. Hello, weekend.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, Daryn, thanks.

KAGAN: Have a great one you guys.

We are getting started this morning with questions about possible preferential treatment, a Kennedy, a car crash, accusation of a cover- up. The driver was Congressman Patrick Kennedy. He says he was disoriented from prescription medication. Police say he appeared intoxicated. But Kennedy insists he wasn't drinking. More on the incident and the investigation that has Washington rattled today. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Reporters catch up to Representative Patrick Kennedy at the end of a traumatic day.

REP. PATRICK KENNEDY, (D) RHODE ISLAND: I'm sorry to keep you up so late.

TODD: Congressional and law enforcement sources tell CNN, early Thursday morning, Capitol Hill Police observed a car, driven by Congressman Kennedy, crash into a barricade at this intersection on Capitol Hill. These sources say Patrick Kennedy was the only person in the vehicle and was not injured.

CNN sources, in contact with police officials who had spoken to officers on the scene, says the officers observed that Kennedy's car was swerving before the crash. A police union official says, according to officers on the scene, Kennedy's car almost hit a police vehicle.

CNN sources say the officers believed Kennedy appeared to be intoxicated. The head of the D.C. Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, who got information from police officials, gave this account to Wolf Blitzer.

LOU CANNON, DC FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE: The officers believed they detected an odor of alcohol about him based on his appearance, based on their experience.

TODD: Late Thursday, Kennedy issued a statement saying he'd earlier gotten a prescription for an anti-nausea medication, Phenergan, which can cause drowsiness. Kennedy's statement reads in part, "following the last series of votes on Wednesday evening, I returned to my home on Capitol Hill and took the prescribed amount of Phenergan and Ambien, which was also prescribed by the attending physician some time ago and I occasionally take to fall asleep. Some time around 2:45 a.m., I drove the few blocks to the Capitol Complex believing I needed to vote. Apparently I was disoriented from the medication. At no time before the incident did I consume any alcohol."

There are also questions about the handling of the incident by the Capitol Hill police. A letter from a top Capitol Hill Police union official to the acting chief, a document seen by a CNN producer, say the responding patrol officers were ordered to leave the scene by superior officers and were not allowed to give Kennedy a sobriety test. In his statement, Kennedy says the officers drove him home.

The letter from Officer Greg Baird reads in part, "these circumstances call the integrity of our organization into question, creating the appearance of special favor for someone perceived as privileged and powerful."

Late Thursday night, Kennedy said this to reporters as he left his office.

KENNEDY: I never asked for any preferential treatment.

QUESTION: Did you receive it, do you think?

KENNEDY: That's up for the police to decide. And I'm going to cooperate fully with them.

TODD: A senior congressional official tells CNN there will be two investigations connected to this affair -- a basic police investigation of Kennedy's crash and an internal Capitol Hill Police probe of how they handled it.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Let's check in with CNN Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash. She is on Capitol Hill this morning.

Dana, do we expect to see Congressman Kennedy today?

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Possibly, Daryn.

The congressman is still in town, in Washington. His office says that he is supposed to go back home to Rhode Island. It is possible that he is going to perhaps talk to some reporters in his home state.

But what's interesting to know, or at least watch for, is whether or not the congressman will maybe talk to the Capitol Police today. And I say that because -- before he leaves -- because his chief of staff says that he actually called the police office last night -- the chief of staff of the -- the chief of police, and said, look, the congressman is happy to come in. He's happy to come in and be questioned. And he was told that that was not necessary at that time.

It is possible that perhaps he could go forward and talk to them this morning. That's still unclear. But the signal that the congressman's office was getting last night was that that was not necessary because the investigation was going to perhaps go slowly.

But that's another thing to remember, Daryn, is that there are actually two investigations that are going on right now. One is into the way that the process and the procedure was followed or perhaps not followed by the Capitol Police, but the other thing is that the actual accident itself is still being investigated. That is still open. And we were told by one top congressional source who was briefed on this last night that it is possible that the congressman still could be charged with things like, for example, reckless driving. So that is something to watch for.

The other thing is that the congressman's office, Daryn, is still trying to back up his explanation that we got very late last night that he was, in fact, taking prescription drugs and that is where he was disoriented, got in the car and crashed into the barrier. What we are told is that he was prescribed these drugs by the Capital physician and his office is trying to obtain a letter from the Capitol physician confirming, in fact, that he was given these drug.

So those are some things that we could watch for. But I can tell you, just sort of the way this is unfolding, we are getting details and members of Patrick Kennedy's inner circle, they're trying to gather the facts and details just alongside of us, pretty much at the same time.

KAGAN: All right. I know you'll bring those to us as they become available. We're also getting word that Brian Todd has gotten a copy of the police report, so we'll hear from him in just a minute.

But first I want to ask you, how are the rank and file Capitol Hill Police dealing with this? And how are they reacting? They've been in the news a lot lately.

BASH: They have been, Daryn, and that's really a critical part of this story because that is really how we found out about this incident because we were getting calls from disgruntled members of the rank and file of the Capitol Police force upset about the way this was handled. And we've heard Lou Cannon, the president of the police union, saying flat out that they felt that procedure was not followed and that the police officers were not allowed to do their job because, we are told, that a supervisor said, look, just take the congressman home. So that is something that is a big controversy up here and also comes in the wake of some other controversies in terms of how the police officers and members of Congress interact.

Remember, of course, the Cynthia McKenney incident. Well that is something that is very raw when it comes to the rank and file Capitol Police officers. I saw a few this morning and I talked to them about it and they said, you know, once again, we look back. They were not very happy about this -- the way this was handled and that is a major part of the way this story is playing. And it played into how this came about and really how we got to know about this incident.

KAGAN: Dana Bash, live from Capitol Hill. Dana, thank you.

Some background now on Congressman Patrick Kennedy. He is the son of Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy. The Rhode Island Democrat is serving his sixth term in the House of Representatives. Kennedy spent time in a drug rehabilitation clinic before college. He has been a champion of mental health issues and disclosed that he suffers from depression.

In 2000, Kennedy was involved in a confrontation with a security guard at Los Angeles International Airport. She claimed he shoved her but Kennedy was not charged in that incident. The Associated Press reports that in 2005 Kennedy and his siblings sought legal guardianship of their mother. Joan Kennedy has long battled alcoholism.

Kennedy says he was disoriented after taking two prescription drugs. One for nausea, the other to help him sleep. Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, here with me to talk about the effects of those medications.

Tell us, how do these medications work and why would someone take them.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well you would take them if you were having problems sleeping and you would take them if you were having problems with nausea. What's interesting is that he was taking the two of them together. And I'll get to that in a second.

The first one is Ambien, which is almost a household word at this point because so many people are taking it and also because it's been in the news because there have been reports that people taking Ambien sleepwalk without realizing what they're doing or sleep eat or even sleep driving. So let's take a look at some of the side effects of Ambien. The company that makes it says, use extreme care while driving a car while taking Ambien and also that the drug can cause changes in behavior and can cause confusion.

Also he was taking another drug called Phenergan, which people haven't heard of very often even though the drug has been around for a very long time. This drug was first approved in 1951. It's an antihistamine and an anti-nausea drug and it can cause severe drowsiness when combined with alcohol or other drugs.

Now, both of these drugs were prescribed by the Capitol Hill physician, that's according to Representative Kennedy. And he said that he had gastroenteritis and that's why he was given the anti- nausea drug.

KAGAN: So it's one thing to take one or the other. But when you mix them, that apparently is the problem.

COHEN: Right, because both of them work with your central nervous system and both of them can cause drowsiness. So it's interesting that both drugs have information in their patient labels that is, gee, you might want to think twice before mixing this with other drugs. For example, this is on the Phenergan label, that severe drowsiness and reduced mental alertness can occur and it may cause drowsiness which may impair your ability to drive a car. And these side effects worsen if taken with anti-anxiety medicine, sleeping pills and some of those other kind of medicines that you see there.

So it's interesting that right there it says, in black and white, that the side effect of causing confusion or causing drowsiness can get worse when you take it with a sleeping pill, which, of course, he was.

KAGAN: I.e., bad idea. Don't do it.

COHEN: Well, it's, obviously, seems to have caused some problems here.

KAGAN: Right, case in point.

Elizabeth Cohen, thank you for that.

COHEN: Thanks.

KAGAN: Well, as I was saying, our Brian Todd has his hands on the police report on the Kennedy accident. With more on that, let's check in with him.

Brian, any new details?

TODD: Daryn, there are. We just got this a short time ago. And for the first time we are hearing that citations were issued to Representative Kennedy. We did not have that yesterday. I'll read to you from the police report. It looks like three notices of infraction were issued to the congressman. They go -- they give the number, but to cut to the chase here, one is failure to keep in proper lane, another one is unreasonable speed, and the third is failure to give full time and attention to the operation of the vehicle. Three citations issued to Representative Kennedy in the early morning hours yesterday.

A couple of other details here in the report. Much of which are consist with what we've been reporting yesterday and this morning but I'll give you a little bit here. The report states that the responding officer had to use evasive measures to avoid Mr. Kennedy's car. At a point shortly after that, the car slammed into a barrier at First and Seace (ph), southeast, near the Capitol.

The responding officer, it says in this report, observed that the driver's eyes were red and watery, his speech was slightly slurred, and upon exiting his vehicle his balance was unsure. The driver also stated to the responding officer that he was, "headed to the Capitol to make a vote." All of this we've been reporting.

It talks about the vehicle's damage. Damage to the driver's side front headlight and bumper. It does talk about the vehicle being a green Mustang, which we have video of. And it does say that no injuries were sustained as a result of the accident.

But the real news that we're talking about right now, three citations issued to representative Kennedy and I'll repeat them just thumbing through this here. Failure to keep in the proper lane, unreasonable speed and failure to give full time and attention to the operation of a vehicle. They did observe that he was traveling at a "high rate of speed." And one collision avoided with a vehicle that belonged to the police department. The police officer responding then gave pursuit to Kennedy's vehicle. Kennedy's vehicle then crashed into a barrier and then these observations were made.

Again, driver stated to the responding officer that he was headed to the Capitol to make a vote. The responding officer reports here that the driver's eyes were red and watery, speech was slightly slurred and upon exiting the vehicle his balance was unsure.

KAGAN: All right, Brian Todd, thank you for that.

Well, it's all about the evidence and the government has it. Lawyers for Lewis "Scooter" Libby want it. The evidence in the focus of a federal court hearing today in the CIA leak case. Lawyers for the vice president's former chief of staff want to get a look at documents that may be used against Libby. They say it's necessary for a fair trial. Libby is charged with lying to the FBI and a grand jury investigating the CIA leak. The leak exposed covert CIA operative Valerie Plame.

Under attack, verbal shots at Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in Atlanta. One heckler shouted, "Rumsfeld should be in prison for war crimes." Security officials hauled her out. Then former CIA analyst and war critic Ray McGovern stepped up to the microphone. He accused Rumsfeld of lying about weapons of mass destruction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: It appears that there were not weapons of mass destruction there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said you knew where they were.

RUMSFELD: I did not. I said I knew where suspect sites were and we were -- just let . . .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said you knew where they were, near Tikrit, near Baghdad and north, east, south and west of there. Those were your words.

RUMSFELD: In my words -- my words were that -- no, no, no. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Let him stay one second. Just a second.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is America, huh?

RUMSFELD: You're getting plenty of play, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, the defense secretary never did say exactly what his words had been. So here they are. His words three years ago on ABC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUMSFELD: We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The exchange in Atlanta comes as Rumsfeld faces pressure from some retired military brass. They want him to resign. President Bush defends his defense chief and says Rumsfeld is going nowhere.

A shocking case to tell you about this morning. A 17-year-old girl brutally attacked, left for dead. We'll talk to the officer who found the girl just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Police were certain she was dead when they saw the crumpled body. A high school girl left in the woods for 30 hours with a broken neck. It happened in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis last week. Ashley Reeves survived. She is in the hospital in serious condition. A high school teach who moonlights as a pro wrestler is accused of attacking her. Samson Shelton is charged with attempted murder. His attorney says he plans to plead not guilty and will fight the charges.

Lieutenant Steve Johnson of the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department found the badly-injured girl. He is leading the investigation and joins me on the phone now from Belleville, Illinois.

Lieutenant, good morning.

STEVE JOHNSON, ST. CLAIR COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Good morning.

KAGAN: First of all, can you tell us the latest on Ashley Reeves and how she's doing? JOHNSON: Well, the family has asked us to not specifically comment on her condition other than she's got a pretty tough road ahead of her. But we're all confident -- she's a tough girl -- that she'll pull through it.

KAGAN: Completely understand the family wanting that privacy and we wish them well at this time.

Let's talk about a previous relationship. Was there a relationship between Ashley and the man who's now in jail, Samson Shelton?

JOHNSON: Well, under Illinois law, all we can say is that there was a relationship. We're not allowed to elaborate any more than that.

KAGAN: OK. How much can you tell me about this search? What it was like there to be on the scene and how did you come upon finding Ashley?

JOHNSON: Well, during the search, and it was a very thickly- wooded, dense area. Spiderwebs, 2:00 a.m., very dark. I had two of my investigators with me, along with Sam Shelton. An investigator, stock investigator Hundel (ph), were with me and were searching. We searched so long that our flashlight battery started wearing out. And we came across her pretty deep into the woods. And the investigation had led us to believe that she was deceased and we were all amazed when we saw her take a breath knowing that she was out there for 30 hours.

KAGAN: So you thought you were looking for a dead body that the point?

JOHNSON: Yes.

KAGAN: And did Sam Shelton lead you to her?

JOHNSON: I cannot say that under Illinois law, but I can tell you he was with us.

KAGAN: OK. As you already mentioned.

Now so you think you're looking for somebody who is already dead. What was the sign that clearly she had life in her?

JOHNSON: Well, Investigator Hundel and I were looking at her and I thought the ground moved a little bit. We had been out working on this case for nearly 25 hours. And as it turned out, her chest moved and she took a breath and immediately we called for ambulance personnel. We knew we couldn't get her out without help. We had to call rescue to literally cut a path with chain saws it was so thick.

KAGAN: Wow. And where does the investigation go from here?

JOHNSON: Well, he's in custody on a million dollar bond. St. Clair County state's attorney's office issued an arrest warrant through Bob Hada (ph) and he's charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of aggravated kidnapping.

KAGAN: Lieutenant Steve Johnson from Belleville, Illinois. Lieutenant, thank you for bring us up-to-date on the case and our best to Ashley and her family and her recovery.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

KAGAN: As we move on, we're talking about sex offenders. Some Californians are saying not in my neighborhood. A dozen paroled sex offenders cannot find a place to live so they're bunking on the grounds of San Quentin State Prison. They were staying at a hotel but managers no longer want them to stay there. The prison is monitoring the parolees with a global position system while they're living on prison grounds. Still, authorities are having to assure the prison's neighbors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ROBERT DOYLE, MARIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: They should be concerned about, you know, the fact that there are 150 registered sex offenders in the county and this increases it, you know, by 12. I'm assuming that with the GPS system that the prison will know where they are at all times. That they're going to be held to a strict curfew.

JOE NATION, CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY: I have 17-year-old twin daughters. I live about a mile and a half, two miles from the prison. And I will make sure that they take extra precautions. I think that's appropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Corrections officials say eight of the 12 parolees committed sexual offenses against children.

A captive for nine months. How Elizabeth Smart is moving on. The teenager was kidnapped from her Utah bedroom four years ago. Police say a self-proclaimed prophet took her. Smart talked with our Larry King. It was her first live interview since her ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH SMART, RESCUED AFTER ABDUCTION: One day my mom sat me down and she said, you know, Elizabeth, you can either, you know, forgive them and move on and just forget that it ever happened to you and just, you know, continue on in your life, or, you know, you can just -- I mean, yes, what they did to you was horrible and no one -- you didn't deserve that and no one should deserve that. And, you know, you can just sit there and be mad at them but really then your just -- your whole life is going to be wrapped up in it and you won't be able to move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: You can watch Larry weeknights at 9:00 Eastern for the latest with all the newsmakers. Gerri Willis has "Top Five Tips" for those of you having summer vacation on the brain.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn, good to see you.

Travel costs. They're rising. We're going to tell you how to save money on your summer holiday, including some extra special place to stay that can save you real dough. "Five Tips" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The markets have been open about 55 minutes. The Dow moving nicely on this Friday morning. It's up 69 points. The Nasdaq also in positive territory. It is up 12 points.

Let's talk summer. Gas is driving up the cost of summer vacation, but there may be some ways to shave expenses. Our Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis joins me with her "Top Five Tips."

Hi, Ger.

WILLIS: Hey, Daryn, good to see you.

You probably know summer travel costs rising, up 5.4 percent. That's the bad news. On average, you can expect to spend about $261 a day for food and lodging. Hotel rooms alone are up 9 percent this summer to $141 a night. And popular destinations like Hawaii, they are even more expensive, costing -- Hawaii alone, $599 a day, which is mind blowing.

OK. So with gas rising 31 percent this year, you've got a lot of work to do if you want to find a vacation that is fun, a, and b, not too expensive.

KAGAN: Well some people consider vacation a spiritual experience. But it really can be a spiritual experience.

WILLIS: Well, OK, Daryn, imagine this, maybe you're a college student who's just getting out of college. You have some time to travel. You want to go to Europe. But how can you do it with prices so high? Well, as long as you don't mind a curfew and some peace and quiet, you can bunk at a monastery or a convent for as little as $18 to $35 a night. What a deal. You'll find convent and monastery stays in France, Spain and Italy and you'll find religious retreat houses of all denominations throughout the U.S. There are guide books that focus these retreats. Keep in mind, though, there may be gender restrictions and if you're traveling as a couple, well, you may need to get separate rooms.

KAGAN: Tell us where we can find some local bargains.

WILLIS: Well, you want to hit up the local tourist board. You've got to get the discounts where you can before you leave. Contact that local tourist board. This is very old school but it works. Tell them to send you coupons. You may get two-for-one movie passes, discounted tour rates or meal specials. If you're headed to a big attraction like an amusement part, stop in the local store in the area, you can pick up some coupons there. And don't forget about free museum nights. In most cities, there's one night where the museum is free or you get a discount. Check that out.

KAGAN: What about the credit cards that have frequent flier miles attached?

WILLIS: Well, you know, I think the frequent flier programs need to be rethought at this point because you can end up paying really high annual fees for these cards. $80 for an annual fee. If you pay that for three years, now you've paid $240. You may as well book a flight with a discount carrier. You may also have to worry about blackout days, seating restrictions and with planes already flying at almost full capacity, it can be hard to cash these things in.

Daryn.

KAGAN: And if we haven't completely pooh, poohed your summer plans, don't be discouraged because there are some good deals out there.

WILLIS: Yes, Carribean cruises are great bargains right now. Look, don't let the prices scare you away. There's still opportunities for last-minute travelers. Airlines are constantly changing their prices all the time. Sometimes as much as three times a day. So you really want to keep an eye on what they're doing. Caribbean cruises, they sell very well, so you'll see lots of deals there. Here are websites that you'll want to check out. Site59.com. I've used that one. 11thhour.com and gotoday.com if you're doing last-minute travel. They're great places to go for deals, bargains out there.

KAGAN: All right, Gerri Willis, thank you.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Have a great weekend.

WILLIS: You, too.

KAGAN: They are a key ingredient in New Orleans' musical gumbo. The Neville Brothers. But they're not playing Jazz Fest this year. One band member is home trying to help and I'll have a chance to visit with Art Neville just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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