Who is Mary Jo Kopechne?
What Happened on Chappaquiddick Island with Senator Edward Kennedy?
Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy had attended a party that evening and offered Kopechne, a 28-year-old Democratic campaign worker and former secretary of his brother, senator Robert Kennedy, a ride back to her hotel at approximately 11pm. According to Kennedy's written statement, he became disoriented on the dark, unfamiliar road he was driving and instead of bearing left at an intersection, continued on to a small bridge, where he veered off into the water.
Senator Kennedy Escaped Drowning
The car sank to the bottom and rested upside down, on its roof. The senator managed to free himself from the vehicle and swim to shore. According to Kennedy's statement, he made several attempts to dive down and locate his passenger, but failed due to exhaustion. Kennedy then walked back to the party, passing several lighted houses on the way, and returned to the scene of the accident with two friends.
How Did Mary Jo Kopechne Die?
Kopechne's actual cause of death is of some question since her parents, Joseph and Gwen Kopechne, refused to allow an autopsy of their daughter. However, the diver who recovered Kopechne's body claimed that the corpse was still buoyant and that the carpeted floorboard of the car had been badly scratched, suggesting that she had not drowned, but had suffocated in her desperate effort to escape.
Chappaquiddick Investigators Troubled by Circumstances of Kopechne's Death
Investigators were troubled by several circumstances surrounding the accident. most of which Kennedy was unable to answer because he was "disoriented and in shock," according to his physician. Why was the senator driving across Dyke Bridge when Edgartown, where he claimed to be headed, was in the oppostie direction? When the authorities recovered the car, three of the windows were either open or smashed in. How is it that the senator could escape but the 5'2" Kopechne could not?
Kennedy did not report the accident to the police until the following morning, after consulting with his lawyer. By that time, the police had already discovered the car. Charged with leaving the scene of an accident, Kennedy recieved a suspended sentence and continued serving as senator of Massachussetts without political repercussion from the incident except for his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination against then president, Jimmy Carter in 1980.
Former editor of Newsweek and New York Times magazine, Ed Klein, claims that the late senator would often make light of the events at Chappaquiddick, asking "have you heard any new jokes about Chappaquiddick?"
Mary Jo Kopechne
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