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Struggles of Al Gore's Only Son Al Gore III: From Childhood Trauma to Being Arrested

By Rebelander Basilan

Aug 04, 2019

07:00 P.M.

From a near-death experience when he was six years old to arrests over drugs, Al Gore’s only son, Al Gore III, has had an eventful life.

As a little boy, Al Gore III was hit by a car, an incident that left him with a broken thigh bone, broken collarbone, broken ribs, ruptured spleen, bruised lung, bruised kidney, bruised pancreas, and a concussion.

"When you've seen your 6-year-old son fighting for his life, you realize that some things matter more than winning."

Al Gore III at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers on December 5, 2011 in New York City | Photo: Getty Images

The incident happened in 1989. The youngest child of Gore and his wife Mary Elizabeth underwent treatment for almost a month at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. Al Gore III was hit by a car leaving the Baltimore Orioles' opening day game.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE

Looking back, the former US Vice president said, "That experience changed me forever. When you've seen your 6-year-old son fighting for his life, you realize that some things matter more than winning, and you lose patience with the lazy assumption of so many in politics that we can always just muddle through.”

Al Gore and his daughter Karenna Gore Schiff and son Albert A. Gore III at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers on December 5, 2011 in New York City | Photo: Getty Images

He added, "When you've seen your reflection in the empty stare of a boy waiting for a second breath of life, you realize that we weren't put hereon Earth to look out for our needs alone; we're part of something much larger than ourselves."

BRUSHES WITH THE LAW

In 2007, Al Gore III had another life-changing experience when he was arrested for drug possession. Then 24 years old, he was stopped for speeding in his hybrid Toyota Prius.

Kristin Gore, Al Gore, his wife Tipper and son Al Gore III at the Kodak Theatre on February 25, 2007 in Hollywood, California | Photo: Getty Images

He was driving at about 100 miles per hour on a freeway south of Los Angeles when he was stopped by an Orange County sheriff’s deputy past 2 a.m.

During a search of his car, the deputy found a small amount of marijuana and drugs including Valium, Xanax, Vicodin, Adderall, and Soma. No prescriptions were found. He was arrested on suspicion of drug possession on $20,000 bail.

It was not the first time he was arrested. In 2002, he was arrested for suspected drunken driving. In 2003, he was arrested for marijuana possession.