Reckless driving charge urged for Sen. Migden

The California Highway Patrol recommended Monday that state Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) be charged with reckless driving resulting in bodily injury, and that the Department of Motor Vehicles evaluate her fitness to drive.

Earlier this month, Migden struck a guardrail on Interstate 80 in Vallejo and rear-ended a car that was stopped at a red light in Fairfield, slightly injuring the driver and a 3-year-old.

Migden said she could not recall the incident and surmised that chemotherapy pills she had been taking for leukemia may have played a role. The senator has said she was told in February that she is disease-free.

CHP investigators concluded that Migden made an unsafe turning move when she hit the guardrail and was driving at an unsafe speed when she crashed into the other car -- both infractions, Sgt. Les Bishop said. Investigators found that distraction due to cellphone use contributed to the violations, he said, but there was no indication alcohol or drugs played a role.

The Solano County district attorney’s office has taken the CHP report under consideration and will probably decide within the next couple of weeks whether to charge Migden with reckless driving causing injury, spokeswoman Kathy Coffer said.

In a statement released Monday, Migden said, “I am very sorry about the accident which I caused. I am not driving, I am in the process of undergoing a medical evaluation, and I will in no way shirk my responsibility for what happened.”