Kerry Kennedy’s claim that a “seizure” and not a sleeping pill caused her Westchester County highway crash was called into question by some cold hard facts yesterday — the results of an official toxicology report that showed she had traces of the sleep aid Ambien in her bloodstream.
A court filing shows that Kennedy — ex-wife of Gov. Cuomo and daughter of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy — had traces of the prescription drug in her system on July 13, when she slammed her Lexus into a big-rig truck during a wild ride down Interstate 684.
The toxicology report, filed by Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore, will make it much harder for the 52-year-old mom to defend herself against a charge of driving while drugged.
Kennedy failed three sobriety tests following the 8 a.m. crash when cops found her slumped over the wheel after she was seen weaving in and out of traffic and cutting off cars before clipping the truck.
She initially told cops she may have mistakenly popped an Ambien instead of her daily thyroid medication before getting behind the wheel and heading to the gym that morning.
But last week, Kennedy denied that Ambien was involved.
“My doctors believe that this was caused not by a sleeping aid, but by a complex partial seizure,” Kennedy claimed.
She said doctors who ran tests on her found that she had symptoms consistent with a brain injury from an old head trauma.
In a statement yesterday, Kennedy appeared to abandon that spin in the face of the toxicology report.
“Moments after the accident occurred, I told police that it was possible that I may have inadvertently taken a sleep aid instead of my daily thyroid medication,” Kennedy said.
“The police Breathalyzer and the Northern Westchester Hospital blood and urine tests came back negative for alcohol, prescription and recreational drugs in my system.
“The results we received today from the Westchester County lab showed trace amounts of a sleep aid in my system, so it now appears that my first instinct was correct.
“I am deeply sorry to all those I endangered that day, and am enormously grateful for the support I have received over the past two weeks.”
Arthur Aidala, a Manhattan criminal defense lawyer not connected to the case, said the Ambien result “gives Ms. Kennedy and her legal team that much more incentive to reach a plea agreement” with prosecutors.
Aidala said such a deal likely would result in no prison time.
Prosecutors declined to comment yesterday.