Kerry Kennedy , daughter of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy , was acquitted in New York on Friday of charges of driving under the influence of a drug . A jury deliberated for an hour and 10 minutes following a four-day trial that featured Kennedy 's turn on the witness stand . After jurors left the courtroom , Kennedy friends and family members , including her 85-year-old mother , Ethel Kennedy , applauded . Kennedy hugged lawyers , William Aronwald and Gerald Lefcourt , and , in an unusual move , shook the hands of the prosecutors . As people filed out of courtroom , Kennedy told reporters she was not angry with the prosecutors who brought the case . The 54-year-old former wife of New York Gov . Andrew Cuomo faced a charge of driving while impaired after swerving off the road in her Lexus SUV and careening into a tractor-trailer on a New York interstate in morning rush-hour traffic in July 2012 . Outside court , Kennedy said she was `` unbelievably grateful . '' Lefcourt suggested that the prosecution pursued the case because of her name . `` You 've got to wonder why an ill-advised prosecution like this was brought , '' the attorney said . `` Is it because of who the defendant is ? They concede that it was an accident and nevertheless they brought this case . I find this very depressing . '' In a statement Friday , the Westchester County District Attorney 's office said : `` We prosecute 2,500 impaired driving cases annually in Westchester County . This case was treated no differently from any of the others . The jury heard all the evidence in this case and we respect their verdict . '' Kennedy testified this week that she grabbed the wrong prescription bottle from her kitchen counter that morning and swallowed 10 milligrams of zolpidem , a sleep aid also known by the brand name Ambien . Neither she nor prosecutors disputed the fact that she drove erratically after taking the medication and sideswiped a tractor-trailer in Westchester County before she was found , slumped over her steering wheel , her car stalled . `` I now know thanks to the tox lab that I must have taken the sleeping medication by mistake , '' said Kennedy , looking at the jury as she testified . Kennedy said she made cappuccino , had some carrots , prepared bags for the gym and office and had no problem leaving her apartment and getting to her vehicle the morning of the accident . Her memory from that morning ends just before she entered the highway , Kennedy said . The next thing she recalls is a knock on the window of her SUV , and a man she thought was a police officer asking if she was OK. `` I was confused by that because I thought I was fine , '' she said on the stand . During a contentious cross examination , Kennedy insisted that she would not have stayed behind the wheel if she 'd felt the effects of the medication . `` If I 'd realized I was impaired , I would have pulled over , '' she told prosecutor Doreen Lloyd , and also said she does n't know what the side effects of zolpidem might feel like . `` You 've taken this pill for 10 years and you ca n't tell me whether or not it makes you feel tired after you take it ? '' Lloyd asked . `` I guess I do n't really think about how I 'm feeling when I take it , '' Kennedy replied . `` I take it , and then I 'm asleep . '' In closing arguments , the prosecution accused Kennedy of lying to police and the public to protect her legacy . `` She had a lot on her mind that morning . And she took the wrong pill by mistake , '' prosecutor Doreen Lloyd told jurors . `` However , it also makes no sense whatsoever that at no point did she realize or feel tired or dizzy or drowsy . That makes no sense , '' she said . `` She is responsible for the chain of events that happened after that . '' Lloyd told jurors that Kennedy had a responsibility to pull off the road safely when she felt the effect of the drug . Her inconsistent statements about the incident , including the claim that her doctors said she 'd had a seizure , were meant as a smokescreen , Lloyd said . `` She knew . She knew right away that she had taken the wrong pill . She felt it . And I submit she was looking for an excuse , to avoid responsibility ... to control her public image . '' Lefcourt told jurors there 's no disputing that Kennedy ingested zolpidem and was `` out of it '' the morning of the crash . `` The dispute is this : Whether the prosecution has proved to you beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Kennedy operated her vehicle while she was aware that she had ingested zolpidem and , after becoming aware , she continued intentionally to drive . That 's what this case is all about . '' The jury of two women and four men began its deliberations Thursday afternoon . They stopped for the day without reaching a verdict before resuming deliberations Friday morning . Kennedy faced up to a year in jail if convicted .
Defense attorney suggests she pursued case because of Kennedy legacy . Kennedy was on trial on a federal charge of driving while impaired . Prosecutor says she lied to protect her family .