WASHINGTON, May 5 — Representative Patrick J. Kennedy said Friday that he was seeking treatment for addiction to prescription medicines after he crashed his car into a traffic barrier on Capitol Hill, in the latest crisis for one of America's storied political families.

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David Scull for The New York Times

Rep. Patrick Kennedy making a statement to the press at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

The New York Times

Representative Patrick J. Kennedy crashed his car early Thursday into a traffic barrier on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Kennedy, a six-term Democratic congressman from Rhode Island, said he planned to enter rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

The congressman said he did not remember any details of the accident, which occurred shortly before 3 a.m. on Thursday. But, he said, "I do know enough to know that I need help."

At a news conference on Capitol Hill, Mr. Kennedy, the son of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, gave his account of the accident and its background. He appeared shaken. His voice cracked at times as he read a statement.

"I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police or being cited for three driving infractions," he said. "That's not how I want to live my life, and it's not how I want to represent the people of Rhode Island."

Mr. Kennedy, 38, said he was leaving Friday to return to the Mayo Clinic. He disclosed that he had been treated there over the Christmas holiday for what he described as an "addiction to prescription pain medication." He said that he came back to Congress this year "reinvigorated and healthy." But he said he had suffered a recurrence of the "addiction problem" — "a chronic condition for which I'm taking full responsibility."

In an accident report made public on Friday, the Capitol Police said officers had issued citations charging Mr. Kennedy with three offenses: failure to keep in the proper lane, traveling at an "unreasonable speed" and failing to give "full time and attention" to operating his vehicle.

Mr. Kennedy drove his green 1997 Ford Mustang convertible into a security barrier near the Capitol. He said he was rushing to a vote. But the House was not in session, having adjourned at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday.

The handwritten police report said that, at the time of the accident, Mr. Kennedy's "eyes were red and watery, speech was slightly slurred and, upon exiting his vehicle, his balance was unsure."

Further, it said Mr. Kennedy's car "had no lights running" and swerved into the wrong lane of traffic, so that a police officer, traveling in the opposite direction, had to "use evasive maneuvers in order to avoid a collision."

When the police officer turned on his emergency equipment and tried to make a traffic stop, the report said, Mr. Kennedy's vehicle "did not respond but continued at a slower speed, finally stopping after colliding head-on with vehicle barriers." Many such barriers have been erected around the Capitol since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Mr. Kennedy was deluged with questions about the accident after the police officers' union suggested he might have received special treatment.

The Capitol Police said a review was under way to see if proper procedures had been followed in the handling of Mr. Kennedy's case. Louis P. Cannon, president of the Washington chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he believed that a police supervisor had already been reassigned because of his role.

A Kennedy family ally said Mr. Kennedy contacted his father, Senator Kennedy, on Thursday and told him what had happened. The ally, who discussed the private conversations on condition of anonymity, said that the father and son spoke several times on Thursday and throughout the day Friday, but that the younger Kennedy himself had chosen to return to the Mayo Clinic.

Senator Kennedy said: "I love Patrick very much and am very proud of him. All of us in the family admire his courage in speaking publicly about very personal issues and fully support his decision to seek treatment."

The traffic accident drew intense interest from cable television networks, which provided coverage rivaling that given to the surprise resignation of Porter J. Goss, director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Although Representative Kennedy said Friday that he could not remember the crash, he issued a statement on Thursday night explaining it.

In the earlier statement, Mr. Kennedy said he was apparently disoriented at the time of the accident because he had been taking Ambien, a sleeping pill, and another medication, Phenergan, for treatment of a stomach disorder. Mr. Kennedy noted that Phenergan can "cause drowsiness and sedation." He did not specify the pain medication to which he said he had been addicted.

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