Talk Elections

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18391700

Well since there is no indication of drugs or alcohol, I hope his medical condition isn't too severe....and if it  WAS a medical condition, they won't pursue felony charges.

A medical condition that causes one to flee the scene of an accident?  Some medical condition.

Easy wormy....he might not have even understood what was happening.  Let's let the chips fall before we play our hand.

This reminds me of Bob Novak. He did something like this - blacking out while driving and not remembering. He had a brain tumor and was dead within a year. Hopefully that is not the case here.

Ah, well you cited my earlier point to wormy nicely......I forgot about Novak.  

Yeah unless there is a true crime here, not just a medical condition, they might  just want to drop all of the charges.

And it was a seizure (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/11/us-usa-bryson-crash-statement-idUSBRE85A0T920120611).

He passed a breathalyzer test (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/06/commerce-secretary-bryson-passed-breatalyzer-test-after-accidents.html) right after the accident, so he probably wasn't drunk. He was unconscious when they found him too; most likely, all charges will be dropped.

Attribution of responsibility and intent is not so simple, wormy.   Getting old is universal and hazardous medical conditions - possible at any age - become more and more common as we get older.

It seems Bryson is epileptic, or at least had a seizure of some sort.

How would that cause him to drive away from the first accident? I can see how it caused the second one, but you'd think he wouldn't have been able to crash into a car, talk to the driver, then drive away, hitting it again, and then drive into another town.

I thought Gary Locke was Commerce Secretary?  The more you know!

He was, then he left to be ambassador to China. Which apparently is a promotion these days. :(

I'm furious about this. I wanted to assume the absolute worst and most malicious of a public figure.

That is Attorney General Holder.  I know it's confusing. So many cabinet officers, so little time. :P

I'm not sure, but I guess we'll see. He might have brain damage or something after this. He might also be an asshole.

There are various forms of epilepsy Hawkeye.  Jerking seizures are the stereotypical form because they are the most obvious, but far more common are what are called absence seizures in which a part of the brain stops functioning for a while, but the rest continues to function normally.  My sister suffers from epilepsy and while her medications have it under control now, when she had an absence seizure, she'd look around, somewhat glassy-eyed and tend to keep doing whatever she had been doing before the seizure began, but poorly as if she were drunk.  Sometimes she can even respond during those seizures, but usually they are too intense for that.

So from personal experience I can attest that it is quite possible for Bryson to have had a mild absence seizure that would have led to the first accident and then while it was still going on have gotten out of the car, get back in and then drive away to get into the second.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/11/politics/california-bryson/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Commerce Secy is taking a leave of absence to undergo tests.

Probably a smart move on the Secy's part to avoid further embarrassment to the Administration after what has been a pretty shotty week for Team Obama.

I know this may be heresy around here since this is politics board, but people do occasionally do things for non-political reasons.  With or without a prior history of seizures, this accident is ample justification to find out what's gone wrong.  (If he does have a prior history, it is a sad fact that for no apparent reason the medications that are used to control the seizures can stop working, requiring either a change in the dosage or a change in the medicines used.  If he does not have a prior history this could be the signal of something more serious.)

The real scandal in Washington is how poorly we are governed.

Regardless of the cause, he should lose his license.

He will.  They'll yank it for medical.

And, he should lose his job. Zombie walkers shouldn't attend cabinet meetings. Having lost meta-level control of their actions, how do we know they won't give overly forthcoming answers to requests for sensitive information?

Having a medical problem ought to be a complete defense to the charges against him, but, we do have to carefully analyze whether, or not, he is a security risk.

Hmmm...I always value Louie Gohmert's opinions on these types of things. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/louie-gohmert-john-bryson-crash_n_1591404.html?1339539955&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009)

While I do agree with you, considering how useless the Commerce Secretary's job is I wonder what info he'd even have to leak. Ya think he'd accidentally release secret weather info from the NOAA, or maybe he'd spill the beans on classified Census data? :P

http://www.epilepsy.com/101/EP101_SYMPTOM

After-seizure symptoms (post-ictal)
Thought:

    Memory loss
    Writing difficulty

Emotional:

    Confusion
    Depression and sadness
    Fear
    Frustration
    Shame/Embarrassment

Physical:

    Bruising
    Difficulty talking
    Injuries
    Sleeping
    Exhaustion
    Headache
    Nausea
    Pain
    Thirst
    Weakness
    Urge to urinate/defecate

http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/epilepsy/background.html

"Slightly over half of seizures in adults are complex partial type. About 80% of these seizures originate in the temporal lobe, the part of the brain located close to the ear. Disturbances there can result in loss of judgment, involuntary or uncontrolled behavior, or even loss of consciousness. Patients may lose consciousness briefly and appear to others as motionless with a vacant stare. Emotions can be exaggerated; some patients even appear to be drunk. After a few seconds, a patient may begin to perform repetitive movements, such as chewing or smacking of lips. Episodes usually last no more than 2 minutes. They may occur infrequently, or as often as every day. A throbbing headache may follow a complex partial seizure."


If he had a seizure it's not at all improbable that his mental state would not have been normal and his judgement would be greatly compromised.

My family had a dog that was epileptic and whenever she had a seizure she'd act strangely afterwards.

Thank you very much. I'm not terribly well-versed in epilepsy or its symptoms. That makes perfect sense.