June 11, 2012 – June 11, 2012 – Commerce Secretary John Bryson, who police said had two car accidents within minutes of each other in San Gabriel, Calif., on Saturday afternoon, suffered a seizure, a Commerce spokeswoman said Monday.
“Secretary Bryson was involved in a traffic accident in Los Angeles over the weekend. He suffered a seizure. He was taken to the hospital for examination and remained overnight for observation. He was released and has returned to Washington,” spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman said in an email.
A Commerce official said the secretary was on personal time with no security detail, driving his own vehicle, and that he was given medication to treat the seizure.
After the second accident, Bryson was found unconscious behind the wheel of his Lexus and had seemed “confused” after the first crash, authorities said on Monday.
Authorities are treating one of the accidents as a felony hit and run.
“On Saturday, June 9, 2012 at about 5:05 p.m. [local time] a hit and run traffic collision occurred in the 400 block of South San Gabriel Boulevard in the City of San Gabriel,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the San Gabriel Police Department said in a joint statement. “Preliminary investigation indicates the collision was caused by Suspect John Bryson, who is the United States Secretary of Commerce.”
Bryson, 68, was 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 spoke 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, according to the written statement.
Read the full story at Politico.