Trooper: Kerry Kennedy Didn’t Appear Impaired While Tested

By Tom Auchterlonie

The second day of Kerry Kennedy’s trial for alleged impaired driving included the testimony of her younger sister, Rory Kennedy, and a New York State trooper who administered alcohol and drug tests.

Rory Kennedy, a documentary filmmaker, spoke as a character witness on her behalf, noting about her background and her “stellar reputation” and honesty. Kerry Kennedy serves as president and as a board member for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights, which is named after their late father.

Kerry Kennedy is expected to testify on Wednesday, defense attorney William Aronwald confirmed as he and fellow counsel Gerald Lefcourt were leaving the White Plains courthouse. The jury trial is being presided over by Judge Robert Neary.

The trooper, Bradley Molloy, recounted various tests that he administered to Kennedy at the Somers barracks. She passed all of her tests after her alleged vehicle accident on I-684 in North Castle on July 13, 2012, Molloy testified. He did not observe her as being impaired and it was in his opinion that a “medical condition” had occurred, he said.

Additionally, Molloy testified that Kennedy told him she took Synthroid, which is a thyroid medication. However, he also explained that she felt she might have accidentally taken Ambien, which is a sleeping medication. Drug test results, from blood and urine samples taken the same day, showed that Kennedy had Zolpidem, which is the official name for Ambien, according to witness testimony. Kennedy’s blood sampling was extracted at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco.

Molloy described Kennedy as having been cooperative. Following the sampling, the blood kit was brought to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, he testified.

Shannon Ralph, who worked at Northern Westchester Hospital at the time, testified about the blood sampling provided, while Mary Jane Masih, a toxicologist working for Westchester County, spoke about the testing of Kennedy’s samples. Zolpidem was originally detected in a urine sample and confirmed with her blood sample.

Elizabeth Spratt, a director for the county who serves in a supervisory role, testified the longest of Tuesday’s witnesses. A considerable amount of her testimony focused on details about Zolpidem. This included descriptions of its effect on people and the time it usually takes for the onset of its effects, which is about 15 to 45 minutes.

Another character witness was Fr. Gerry Creedon, a pastor at a church in Dale City, Va. who has known Kennedy since she was 13. He recalled his ties to her family, having attended several family events, along with her introducing him to the then-vice president of the Dominican Republic, the location of a mission that he was involved with. Creedon spoke positively of Kennedy multiple times during his testimony.

Additionally, testimony was given by Jack Roth, who works at a camera store in Mount Kisco and has been a part-time videographer. As part of his testimony, video was played that showed a drive from Kennedy’s Bedford property to I-684.

The trial will resume at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.