Over the weekend, Commerce Secretary John Bryson was involved in two traffic accidents. According to Bryson, the traffic accidents were caused by him having seizures while driving. He announced he is taking medical leave to address his health issues. Experts are now trying to figure out is seizing could explain the series of event.
On Saturday, Commerce Secretary John Bryson was cited by police after he left the scene of an accident he caused. According to the police report, Bryson crashed hit the rear-end of a Buick whose driver was waiting for a train to pass. Bryson then got out of the car and had a talk with the passengers of the Buick he hit. As he got back in his own car and left the scene, Bryson hit the Buick once again.
Not many minutes later, the police report notes that Bryson hit another car. Two miles away from the first traffic accident, Bryson crashed his Lexus for a second time. He was eventually found unconscious, soon after the second accident.
Jennifer Friedman, spokeswoman for the Commerce Department, said that John Bryson had a seizure and went to the hospital for a check-up. Last night, Bryson’s office released another statement, informing that the Commerce Secretary was taking a medical leave and Deputy Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank will take over temporarily.
“Effective immediately I am taking a medical leave of absence so that I can focus all of my attention on resolving the health issues that arose over the weekend” reads Bryson’s statement.
Police officers had Bryson’s blood sent it for testing, to see if he might have been under the influence. Anyway, the Commerce Secretary is looking at hit-and-run charges. However, if Bryson’s health condition is proved to have been the cause of the accidents, it’s likely the police would drop the charges.
ABC News talked with Dr. Robert Fisher, a professor of neurology as well as the Stanford Epilepsy Center in California director. He explained there are “several different types of seizures” but to have caused an accident “it is possible either for it to have been a cluster of a few seizures, or one seizure with a long aftermath of confusion, called ‘postictal’”.
