Obama’s Commerce Secretary Investigated for Hit and Run
Commerce Secretary John Bryson, who was cited in a felony hit-and-run case in southern California over the weekend, suffered a seizure in connection with a traffic accident, the Commerce Department announced Monday.
“Secretary Bryson was involved in a traffic accident in Los Angeles over the weekend,” spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman said in a statement. “He suffered a seizure.”
A Commerce official, speaking on background, told CBS News that Bryson, 68, was given medication to treat the seizure.
Only minor injuries were reported in the two accidents in San Gabriel and Rosemead, Calif., outside Los Angeles Saturday around 5 p.m. PT. Bryson was found unconscious at the scene of the second accident.
According to a police statement, which said the investigation was still in its preliminary stages, there were no signs that drug or alcohol use played a role in the crashes. The Los Angeles Times reported Monday afternoon that Bryson had passed a Breathalyzer test, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Mike Parker.
Read more about this breaking story at CBS News.com HERE.
This what the Politico reported earlier:
Bryson, 68, was allegedly driving a Lexus on San Gabriel Boulevard when he hit the back of a Buick that was waiting for a train to pass. There were three men in the Buick. The commerce secretary is said to have spoken to the men after hitting the car the first time and then, while leaving the scene, again hit the vehicle. The men in the Buick followed Bryson’s car while they called 911.
A few minutes later at about 5:10 p.m. local time, Bryson allegedly caused another collision — this one involving a Honda Accord with a man and a woman inside. According to the statement, Bryson was “found alone and unconscious behind the wheel of his vehicle” and was treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. …
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the San Gabriel Police Department said there is no indication that alcohol or drugs played a role in the two accidents in the preliminary stage of the investigation and that all parties involved were “cooperative” with law enforcement.
Bryson passed a breathalyzer test given to him at the hospital, but the results of a toxicology blood test are still pending, according to the San Gabriel Police Department.