New York jury finds Kerry Kennedy not guilty of impaired driving

By Victoria Cavaliere WHITE PLAINS, New York (Reuters) – It took a jury less than hour to find the daughter of slain U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy not criminally liable for sideswiping a tractor-trailer while driving on a suburban New York highway, after mistakenly taking a sleeping pill. After a four-day trial, the six-member jury quickly found Kerry Kennedy not guilty of driving while impaired by drugs. On July 13, 2012, she took the sleeping pill zolpidem, known by the brand name Ambien, rather than her usual thyroid medication before getting behind the wheel of her silver Lexus. “I’m incredibly grateful to the jury for working so hard on this case, and to my lawyers, and to my family and friends and so many other people who supported me,” Kennedy, 54, told reporters after the verdict was read at Westchester County Court in White Plains, New York.