Cops: US Commerce Secretary Involved in Calif. Hit-and-Run Accidents
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Brendan Smialowski/Getty ImagesUPDATE: The Commerce Department announced Monday morning that its secretary, John Bryson, suffered a seizure over the weekend when police say he was involved in several hit-and-run car accidents in California.
(LOS ANGELES) — U.S. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson was involved in several felony hit-and-run car accidents last Saturday in California, according to a news release from the San Gabriel Police Department.
The report says that Bryson, who was confirmed by the Senate last October to replace Gary Locke, was traveling in a Lexus when he first rear-ended a Buick in the City of San Gabriel, and after speaking with the males in the car, got back into his Lexus and struck their Buick again.
The men in the Buick then notified police while following Bryson’s car, according to the police report. It was when Bryson reached the city of Rosemead that police said he struck another vehicle, a Honda Accord.
Cops then found Bryson passed out unconscious in his car. He was first treated by paramedics and then taken to a hospital for examination. He sustained no injuries and has since been released, according to Jennifer Friedman, a spokeswoman for the Commerce Department.
While the investigation into the incidents is still in the preliminary stages, neither drugs nor alcohol apparently played a role in the collisions.
“They have ruled out alcohol and drugs at this time and also information was given that he suffers from a preexisting medical condition,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Pope told ABC News Radio.
Meanwhile, two of the men in the Buick and the passengers in the Accord complained of pain, although they did not appear to suffer major injuries.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio