911 call: John Bryson chased by victims after fleeing the scene
July 12th, 2012 by faye
Media outlet TMZ has obtained the 911 call of the hit-and-run victims of former U.S Commerce Secretary John Bryson, where he suddenly suffered a seizure, then subsequently crashed his car.
According to the 911 call placed by the passenger of the first car hit by John Bryson, he told the operator, “We have a drunk driver that just hit us and fled. He hit us twice, we’re pursuing him now.” During the hot pursuit, the driver said that Bryson hit a second car.
The 911 call shows that the hit-and-run victims were quite worried that the former U.S Commerce Secretary might drive onto the busy Interstate 10 in his dazed state and that eventually, they used their own car to box in the secretary after he crashed into a second car.
“Stay there! We have him,” the caller can be heard shouting during the 911 call after the pursuit ended. “Don’t move. He’s drunk. Let him be. He hit us, too.”
The police dispatcher told the hit-and-run victims of John Bryson to wait where they are until officers arrived at the scene. He was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital, where he was treated and released the next day.
Prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to charge the former U.S Commerce Secretary with any crimes, despite police investigators submitting a felony hit and run charge to them.
The prosecutors said two doctors examined John Bryson and found out that he was in a confused state after suffering from some type of seizure. His blood tests also showed signs that he had the sleep drug Ambien in his system at the time, but the prosecutors said it was not clear if the drug played a role in the accident.
Police have reported that when they found John Bryson behind the wheel of his car at the site of the second crash, he was already unconscious. However, it’s quite impossible to tell from the 911 call whether he was awake before the police officers arrived.
“He’s still in the car,” the caller told the police dispatcher. “He’s sitting there. He’s in drive, but he’s stepping on his breaks. So we just want to make sure he doesn’t take off.”
John Bryson resigned from his cabinet post on June 21 after the accident.
No charges for U.S Commerce Secretary John Bryson in hit-and-run case
July 5th, 2012 by faye
U.S Commerce Secretary John Bryson will not be facing criminal charges from Los Angeles County prosecutors in his two alleged hit-and-run case in the San Gabriel Valley.
As previously reported, Secretary Bryson was found unconscious in his Lexus after allegedly smashing his vehicle into two cars — miles apart from each other.
According to a statement released by the District Attorney, they have “declined to file a case against former Secretary of Commerce John Bryson” for his hit-and-run case This decision appears to have ended the case which clearly caught national attention.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore previously said that no alcohol or illegal substances were found in Bryson’s system. However, the U.S Commerce Secretary did test positive for Ambien, a sleeping drug. But the tests showed “low end of therapeutic levels” and a criminalist cannot say if that was a contributing factor in the hit-and-run case.
Doctors are continuing with their evaluation of John Bryson in connection to the June 9 car crash. Bryson’s neurologist initially diagnosed his condition as a “complex partial seizure.” It was also reported previously that he had a “limited recall of the events” following the seizure, which was said to be his first time.
John Bryson stepped down from his post last month after the Commerce Department said that his hit-and-run case were caused by seizures. Police officers who found him do not believe that he was under the influence of alcohol.
According to the authorities, he was behind the wheel of his Lexus, travelling in the 400 block of South San Gabriel Boulevard shortly after five in the afternoon on June 9, when suddenly he allegedly rear-ended a Buick as it was waiting for a train to pass. Right after he stopped to talk to the three men inside the Buick, John Bryson left the location and then struck the Buick for a second time. The three men decided to follow Bryson before calling 911 to ask for assistance.
The authorities added that John Bryson continued to drive his Lexus into Rosemead, which is patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. And there, he allegedly bumped into a second car with two people inside near the intersection of San Gabriel Boulevard and Hellman Avenue. Police officers subsequently found Bryson alone and unconscious behind the wheel of his Lexus
John Bryson was in Southern California on June 7 to give the commencement address at Polytechnic School in Pasadena, the alma mater of his four daughters.