Joan Kennedy Hits Fence, Arrested as Drunk Driver

BARNSTABLE, Mass. — Joan Kennedy, the ex-wife of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), was arraigned on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol after her car hit a chain-link fence along a Cape Cod beach road, authorities said today.

She was driving a 1985 blue Buick along Craigville Beach Road in Centerville when she hit the fence at about 8 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

Her lawyer, Patrick Butler, entered an innocent plea on her behalf at an arraignment Wednesday in Barnstable District Court and a pretrial conference was set for Aug. 5. She was not in court.

Police said Kennedy, who waged a highly public battle against alcohol dependency in the late 1970s, was alone in the car at the time of the accident. Kennedy, 51, acknowledged in 1985 that she was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.