U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson suffered from a seizure before he was involved in a traffic accident over the weekend in the Los Angeles area, MSNBC is reporting. Police are investigating the two traffic collisions allegedly caused by Bryson, which left him injured and unconscious. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department and the San Gabriel Police Department are saying that one of the crashes was under investigation as a felony hit and run.
Bryson was taken to the hospital after the accident for examination, and stayed overnight for observation. He has been released and returned to Washington. He has been given medication to treat the seizure.
Bryson was on personal time in Los Angeles without security detail. He was driving his own vehicle when the accidents occurred. He had been cited for felony hit and run, but wasn’t taken to jail because he was hospitalized.
The investigation is still at an early stage. But there weren’t any immediate indications that alcohol or drugs played a role in the collisions.
In the first accident, Bryson was driving alone in San Gabriel in a Lexus. He allegedly hit the back of a vehicle occupied by three men who had stopped for a passing train. After speaking to the occupants, Bryson hit their car again as he left the scene. The men followed him while calling police.
Bryson then allegedly was involved in another accident minutes later in Rosemead. He struck a car occupied by a man and a woman. Two people from the first collision were treated by paramedics for their pain. The couple involved in the second crash declined medical aid.
Written by: Karen Benardello
