Here's some of the details surrounding the
bizarre drowning of
Mary Jo Kopechne.
The time was July 18, 1969, the place was Chappaquiddick. It was a Friday night when the dark blue Oldsmobile 98 veered off a narrow bridge into a tidal pond, killing 28 year old Mary Jo Kopechne. The driver of the car was one Senator Edward M. Kennedy, age 37.
Lets set the scene.
Martha'a Vineyard, an island off Cape Cod has always been the playground of the Kennedys. On that weekend in 1969, Ted Kennedy and 11 other people gathered at a rented cottage on Chappaquiddick for a cookout.
All of the attendees were loyal to the Kennedys. Five of the men were either employed by or friendly with the family. The six women, the "Boiler Room Girls" had all worked on Senator Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign, tragically cut short by his assassination a year earlier.
The participants have always claimed that it was an innocent party even though all of the men, including Ted Kennedy were married and the women were all single.
On to the party...
It was reported and later verified that huge quantities of alcohol were present at the party. Kennedy claims he had only a couple of rum and cokes. About midnight, Kennedy and Kopechne leave the party, claiming that they were tired and were going to return to Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard - across about a 150 yard wide channel.
According to Kennedy, he "mistakenly" turned right onto a gravel road and skidded off the bridge. the car landed upside down in about eight feet of water. Again, according to Kennedy, after freeing himself from the car, he made numerous attempts to rescue Ms. Kopechne, "nearly drowning". After his unsuccessful attempts he made his way back to the party where he got his cousin (Joseph Gargan) and a friend (Paul Markham) to return for another try.
After failing in their attempts, they went to a ferry landing nearby. It's at this time where Kennedy "impulsively" jumps into the water and swam all the way back to Edgartown. In subsequent interviews, Kennedy claims that he "nearly drowned a second time". His friends, inexplicably, return to the party, assuming that Kennedy, once at Edgartown would contact the police.
In fact, it was a full nine hours later - after Kennedy learned that the submerged car had been discovered, that he reported the accident to the police. He claimed he was still in shock. No tests were performed to try and determine if alcohol was a factor in the accident.
The partygoers quickly left the island. Ms. Kopechne's body was flown by a plane chartered by the Kennedys to her home town of Wilkes-Barre. Pennsylvania. No autopsy was performed.
Kennedy attends the funeral of Mary Jo Kopechne and is photographed with a neck brace. He is never seen wearing it again.
A week after the accident, Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and was given a two month suspended jail sentence and a years probation.
Many investigations by both authors and news organizations have been conducted and with them, numerous theories abound. Most think a coverup of some sort took place. Kennedy himself has addressed the topic from time to time but has never added new information or clarified any unanswered questions.