WASHINGTON - Rep. Patrick Kennedy reached a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of prescription drugs in connection with his middle-of-the-night car crash last month near the U.S. Capitol. Two additional charges of reckless driving and failure to exhibit a driving permit will be dismissed under the plea agreement.Announcing the agreement, Kennedy's chief of staff, Sean Richardson, said the Rhode Island Democrat would appear in District of Columbia Superior Court Tuesday afternoon "to accept the consequences of his actions." "He is looking forward to closing this chapter," Richardson said. "He's feeling great and is expected to be back to work."
Kennedy returned to Congress last week after nearly a month of treatment for addiction to prescription pain drugs at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. The six-term congressman, who has struggled with addiction since high school, had entered the clinic one day after the May 4 crash on Capitol Hill that he said he could not remember.