LoungeMachine
11-27-2005, 09:54 PM
Congressmen involved in Baghdad road accident
Sun Nov 27, 2005 8:38 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A military vehicle carrying three congressmen overturned on a Baghdad road on Saturday night, and two of the representatives, Ike Skelton of Missouri and Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, were flown to Germany for medical tests.
Congressional staffers said on Sunday night the two representatives sustained only minor cuts and bruises in the incident, which occurred at the end of a trip to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with U.S. troops in Afghanistan and meet with military commanders in Baghdad.
The third congressman, Georgia Democrat Jim Marshall, was not injured.
Murphy, a Republican, told CNN on Sunday night the delegation was making its way to the Baghdad airport in a military convoy when their armored vehicle swerved off the road to avoid an oncoming car and landed on its side.
"It appeared that a vehicle may have run us off the road. We're assuming it was unintentional," he said.
Murphy and Skelton, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, were able to walk away from the accident, but were flown to Germany for tests after they complained of neck pain. Murphy said their medical evacuation flight also included U.S. troops recently wounded in Iraq.
Murphy's chief of staff, Susan Mosychuk, added that there was no evidence that the congressmen were under attack in the incident. The heavily traveled Baghdad airport road is considered one of the city's most dangerous thoroughfares.
Lara Battles, a spokeswoman for Skelton said, "We were told that everyone's doing OK. We don't have to worry unnecessarily."
Sun Nov 27, 2005 8:38 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A military vehicle carrying three congressmen overturned on a Baghdad road on Saturday night, and two of the representatives, Ike Skelton of Missouri and Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, were flown to Germany for medical tests.
Congressional staffers said on Sunday night the two representatives sustained only minor cuts and bruises in the incident, which occurred at the end of a trip to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with U.S. troops in Afghanistan and meet with military commanders in Baghdad.
The third congressman, Georgia Democrat Jim Marshall, was not injured.
Murphy, a Republican, told CNN on Sunday night the delegation was making its way to the Baghdad airport in a military convoy when their armored vehicle swerved off the road to avoid an oncoming car and landed on its side.
"It appeared that a vehicle may have run us off the road. We're assuming it was unintentional," he said.
Murphy and Skelton, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, were able to walk away from the accident, but were flown to Germany for tests after they complained of neck pain. Murphy said their medical evacuation flight also included U.S. troops recently wounded in Iraq.
Murphy's chief of staff, Susan Mosychuk, added that there was no evidence that the congressmen were under attack in the incident. The heavily traveled Baghdad airport road is considered one of the city's most dangerous thoroughfares.
Lara Battles, a spokeswoman for Skelton said, "We were told that everyone's doing OK. We don't have to worry unnecessarily."