How long was Mary Jo Kopechne alive after the car flipped? [citation needed], Kennedy then put down his manuscript (though he continued reading from cue cards), and asked the people of Massachusetts to decide whether he should resign:[citation needed], "If, at any time, the citizens of Massachusetts should lack confidence in their Senator's character or his ability, with or without justification, he could not, in my opinion, adequately perform his duties, and should not continue in office. Kennedy pleaded guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident causing bodily injury. Unless you were conscious in or around 1969, the year in which the Chappaquiddick accident took place, youre probably wholly unfamiliar with this story. The late Massachusetts Sen. Edward (Ted) Kennedy was involved in a car accident on the island on July 18, 1969 that took the life of a young woman named Mary Jo Kopechne, a former campaign aide to his brother, Robert Kennedy. There was a car parked in front of the cottage, and I climbed into the backseat. He called his brother-in-law Stephen Edward Smith,[Notes 3][40] congressman John V. Tunney,[41] and others that morning, but he still did not report the accident to authorities. $30.00. Meanwhile, Gargan went to the Katama Shores to inform the Boiler Room Girls of the incident. Kopechne, who grew up in New Jersey, had volunteered for John F. Kennedys presidential campaign while in college. [18] Rosemary Keough's purse was found in the front passenger compartment of the car, causing Arena to misidentify Kopechne. Finally, Kennedy wrote that my burden is nothing compared to [Kopechnes] loss and the suffering her family had to endure. A young woman leaves a party with a wealthy U.S. senator. [citation needed] He said he was overcome "by a jumble of emotions grief, fear, doubt, exhaustion, panic, confusion, and shock". The body was moved from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania, where Kopechnes family lived, without undergoing an autopsy. The diver who ended up pulling Kopechne from the car believed that Kopechne had been sustained, for about three or four hours, through an air bubble. attempts certainly could have been made to rouse the residents by knocking on doors or windows. Please plan ahead and leave plenty of time. [97], Journalist Jack Olsen wrote the first investigative book on the case, The Bridge at Chappaquiddick, in 1970, attempting to solve the unanswered questions of the incident. [32], At the ferry landing, Kennedy dove into the water and swam 500 feet (150m) across the channel to Edgartown. I could have had her out of that car twenty-five minutes after I got the call. he didn't even know she was in the car, according to a retired CIA operative. He managed to escape but his young female companion, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned. Assuring his friends that he would take care of it, Kennedy dove into the water and began swimming back toward Edgartown. [95] He cited the orders of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and told the grand jury that it could not see the evidence or Boyle's report from the inquest, which were still impounded. Late in the evening, Kennedy and Kopechne left the party together. No one can look at the beautiful rolling fields of Gettysburg without mentally peopling them with the mangled corpses of men and horses. Gargan's mother died when he was six, and he was raised after that by Ted's parents. Late on the night of July 18, 1969, a black Oldsmobile driven by U.S. By 9:15 on the morning of July 19, Kennedy, Gargan, and Markham were standing together on the ferry landing on Chappaquiddick. But Gargan and Markham tell a different version, where Kennedys swim was in fact uneventful. He wrote that Kopechne normally drove a Volkswagen Beetle, which was much smaller, lighter, and easier to handle than Kennedy's larger Oldsmobile 88. "[109] The program inflicted serious political damage on Kennedy. Principal photography began in Boston, in September 2016. [16] Kennedy entered the police station at approximately 9:50a.m. Generally Crimmins was his driver and had, that very morning, driven Kennedy back and forth across the same bridge to go swimming in Chappaquiddick. How strong was the current really? Readers Digestcommissioned a second study for the 1980 cover story; this time calling upon the expertise of an automobile-accident analyst. [17] Others in attendance were attorney Charles Tretter, a Kennedy advisor; and Raymond LaRosa, who had worked on Kennedy's Senate campaigns. For this is a decision that I will have finally to make on my own. It will be 50 years ago on Thursday that tragedy struck Chappaquiddick, a small island that's part of Martha's Vineyard. Meanwhile, a diver recovered Kopechne's body from Kennedy's car shortly before 9a.m. Saturday. The car turned over and sank into the water, and landed with the roof resting on the bottom. The fateful events at Chappaquiddick ended Mary Jo Kopechnes life and derailed Ted Kennedys presidential ambitions for good. Chappaquiddick Speaks by Bill Pinney, Stormy Weather Press, 2017, 398 pages, $19.95. History. Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy who had come . At a July 25, 1969, court hearing, Kennedy pled guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident, and received a two-month suspended jail sentence. In fact, many believe our article played a major role in Kennedys failure to win the nomination. All the men were married, except Crimmins;[8] wives were not invited to the Chappaquiddick weekend. [29] His route back took him past four houses from which he could have telephoned to summon help before he reached the cottage, but he did not attempt to contact the local residents. In addition, he and Crimmins had traveled that exact route twice earlier that same day. Senator Edward M. (Ted) Kennedy, age 37, and his cousin, Joseph Gargan, 39,[Notes 1] planned to race Kennedy's sailboat, Victura, in the 1969 Edgartown Yacht Club Regatta on Friday and Saturday, July 18 and 19, 1969, after having forgone the previous year's Regatta because of the assassination of Kennedy's brother, Robert, that June. The 37-year-old Kennedy survived the crash, but the young woman riding with him in the car didnt. But Kennedy didnt contact local police until 10 a.m. on the morning of July 19, after Kopechnes body had been found in his submerged car in Poucha Pond. [86], Kennedy testified that he had "full intention of reporting it. The next morning her body is discovered in his car at the bottom of a pond. Therefore, police were unable to test Kennedys blood alcohol level at the time of the accident, and they had no other evidence of illegal activity. We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer), Chappaquiddick: The Still Unanswered Questions, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Podcast. 'that is what I said and I dove into the water. In the end, Kennedy pled guilty to the charge of leaving the scene of the accident, and received a two-month jail sentence (which was suspended) and a temporary driving ban. Stephen Smith, Robert McNamara, Ted Sorensen, Richard N. Goodwin, Lem Billings, Milton Gwirtzman, David W. Burke, John Culver, Tunney,[41] Gargan,[60] Markham, and others arrived to advise him. As far as you know, you didnt know anything about the accident that night.. Getty Images. "[94], On April 6, 1970, a Dukes County grand jury assembled in special session to investigate Kopechne's death. The Kopechne family did not bring any legal action against him but did receive a payment of $90,904 from him personally and $50,000 from his insurance company. Mary Jo Kopechne Sections. In it, he claimed that he wasnt aware that hed made a wrong turn until he was seconds away from hitting the bridge. What were he and Kopechne doing together that night? Even though Oldsmobile has been gone for more than a decade doomed in the marketplace, no doubt, by the focus-group-dismaying first three letters in its name we still celebrate the marque in music to this day. As he called out to offer help, the car moved forward and veered quickly eastward onto Dike Road, speeding away and leaving a cloud of dust. He denied he engaged in any "immoral conduct" with Kopechne or driving under the influence of alcohol that evening. [93] Despite Boyle's findings, Dinis chose not to prosecute Kennedy for manslaughter. Chappaquiddick. [127][128], Gargan's mother was the sister of Kennedy's mother. Kennedy escaped the. Chappaquiddick, which premieres on April 6, aims to deliver a matter-of-fact, unbiased portrayal of one of the most shocking events in American political history. Description Based on historical events, this suspenseful thriller examines the infamous 1969 death of Mary Jo Kopechne, who drowned after Senator Ted Kennedy drove off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, and the moral and legal complexities that play out over the following week. [77] On September 2, Kennedy's lawyers petitioned the Massachusetts Supreme Court for a temporary injunction against the inquest,[75] which was granted. [75] Nash advised Dinis that a grand jury investigation had more "teeth" than an inquest, as it had the power to indict defendants, whereas an inquest was only authorized to determine if a crime has been committed. ", "Powerful Fox Nation documentary marks 50-year anniversary of Chappaquiddick", "Producers and cast of For All Mankind tease a new course for the space race at NYCC", https://periodicosonline.uems.br/index.php/REV/author/submission/4211, Edward M. Kennedy's Address to the People of Massachusetts on Chappaquiddick, broadcast nationally, from Joseph P. Kennedy's home, on July 25, 1969, Collection of newspaper articles covering the incident, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chappaquiddick_incident&oldid=1149050591, Ted Kennedy's driver's license suspended 16 months, Leaving the scene of an accident causing bodily injury, "A speed of twenty miles per hour as Kennedy testified to, operating the car as large as his Oldsmobile, would at least be negligent and, possibly, reckless. [48][49][50], Medical Examiner Nevin strongly disagreed with Mills' decision to forgo an autopsy,[51] believing that ruling out foul play would work to Kennedy's advantage by laying prurient public speculation to rest. As a result of the party weekend, Kopechne and the Boiler Room Girls ended up being associated with fast living, not with their hard work on Kennedy's campaign. After his car skidded off the bridge into Poucha Pond, Kennedy swam free, and maintained that he tried to rescue Kopechne from the submerged car, but that he could not. Senator Kennedy was visiting Edgartown to participate in the annual Edgartown Regatta, as he had done for the past 30 years. [74] He received a response the next day that such inquests are under jurisdiction of the District Court. Running Time: 1 hr 41 mins. Kennedy said that he called her name several times from the shore, and tried to swim down to reach her seven or eight times. [63] In one particular March 14, 1958, incident, Kennedy ran a red light, then cut his tail lights and raced to avoid a highway patrol officer. . Mortician Eugene Frieh examined the body and found that it contained far less water than most drowning victims. Bettmann/Getty Images For the misdemeanor, Kennedy received a sentence of two months in prison (suspended) and revocation of his drivers license for one year. The expert, Raymond McHenry, used a computer recreation of the scene, including analysis of the skid marks left on the bridge, to conclude that Kennedys car was indeed traveling faster than he had claimed. Chappaquiddick. [31], Kennedy returned to the cottage, where the party was still in progress, but rather than alerting all of the guests to the crash, he quietly summoned Gargan and Markham, and collapsed in the back seat of a rented Plymouth Valiant parked in the driveway. Although Kennedy received many messages from voters opposed to his resignation from the Senate, reaction in much of the news media, and of District Attorney Edmund Dinis, was that Kennedy's televised speech left many questions unanswered about how the accident happened, and his delay in reporting it. While Kennedy escaped through the driver's window, the 28-year-old Kopechne drowned. Director: John Curran. It was 7:30 am, and Kennedy had still not informed authorities about the accident. A car driven by U.S. She didnt drown. Farrar believed Kopechne could have been saved, had Kennedy called the police. On the way, he would have passed two separate houses with lights ontwo doors he could have knocked on and asked to use the phone to call for help. Within the first few mom, My expectations for this years Oscar Awards were low. It seemed certain the scandal would dog his career. The site of the 1969 Chappaquiddick Island crash involving Sen. Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne. After another long awards season of Hollywood doing what it does best ignoring Black art I, This story contains heavy spoilers for Creed III. [95], On July 23, 1969, the registrar of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles informed Kennedy that his license would be suspended until there was a statutory hearing concerning the accident. Her face was pressed into the footwell, and her hands gripped the back of the front seat, as if she had been trying to push her head into a pocket of air. On July 18, 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy's Oldsmobile careened off a 10.5-foot-wide bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Edgartown, Massachusetts, resulting in the death of 28-year-old campaign . We've. 276291. I remember the first time I really understood what love was or at least what a nine-year-old could understand as romantic love. There was one passenger with me, one Miss Mary ___,[Notes 7] a former secretary of my brother, Sen. Robert Kennedy. Gargan drove the three to the site of the crash, to try to rescue Kopechne from the car. To charge Kennedy with involuntary manslaughter, the police would have had to establish that he did something illegal, like speeding or driving under the influence. [20] Kennedy put this time at "approximately 11:15p.m.", although he was not wearing a watch;[8] the time came from Crimmins' watch. In a televised statement that same evening, he said his conduct immediately after the accident "made no sense to me at all", and that he regarded his failure to report the accident immediately as "indefensible". Meghan Jones is a word nerd who has been writing for RD.com since 2017. Further, Kennedy declined to serve as George McGovern's running mate that year. He maintained that the current was too strong for either to reach the car and find Kopechne, even adding that Gargans arm was bruised and bloodied when he climbed out of the pond. Shortly before delivering his televised statement, Kennedy pled guilty to a misdemeanor for leaving the scene of an accident. [108] Kennedy also gave what one author described as an "incoherent and repetitive" answer to the question, "Why do you want to be President? But if he was traveling 20 mph, he still should have been able to see the bridge in time, even in the dark, and come to a stop before reaching it. [75] Forensic pathologist Werner Spitz testified on behalf of Joseph and Gwen Kopechne that the autopsy was unnecessary and the available evidence was sufficient to conclude that Kopechne died from drowning. By A.O. He left in a car with 28-year-old Mary . But rather than report the accident to the police at that time, Kennedy returned to his hotel in Edgartown. He still did not call the police. When he saw 'Huck' Look, he got scared. And they wonder. Kennedy and Kopechne left the party together at 11 pm, and only one of them made it back alive. Six of these attended the party: Mary Jo Kopechne, Rosemary Keough, Esther Newberg, sisters Nance and Mary Ellen Lyons, and Susan Tannenbaum. Instead, he pulled two close and trusted friends, Joe Gargan and Paul . 1h 46m. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), https://www.history.com/news/ted-kennedy-chappaquiddick-incident-what-really-happened-facts, Ted Kennedys Chappaquiddick Incident: What Really Happened. A party guest, Raymond LaRosa, saw him, and Kennedy asked him to get Gargan and Markham. It was as if these men had forgotten everything which made the Kennedys distinctive in American politics, and simply told the youngest brother that he could get away with whatever he wanted because he was a Kennedy in Massachusetts."[61]. A 28-year-old woman passenger drowned today when a car driven by Senator Edward M. Kennedy plunged 10 feet off a bridge into a pond on Chappaquiddick Island near this community on Martha's Vineyard. This resulted in the drowning death of his 28-year-old passenger Mary Jo Kopechne, who was trapped inside the vehicle. Over eight months, I investigated what really happened on the tiny Massachusetts island of Chappaquiddick on July 18, 1969, when Sen. Ted Kennedy drove his car off a narrow wooden bridge an . A January 5, 1970 judicial inquest concluded that Kennedy and Kopechne did not intend to take the ferry, and that Kennedy intentionally turned toward the bridge, operating his vehicle negligently, if not recklessly, at too high a speed for the hazard which the bridge posed in the dark. When he was 25 to 30 feet (7.6 to 9.1m) away, the car reversed and started backing up towards him. His lawyers persuaded the prosecution to let him make this plea, and this prevented the prosecution from charging him with negligence and, therefore, precluded his examination and cross-examination in court. John Farrar, captain of the Edgartown Fire Rescue unit, arrived at 8:45a.m., equipped with scuba gear, and discovered Kopechne's body in the back seat; he extricated it from the vehicle within 10 minutes. The plot details the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident, in which Kennedy's negligence caused an automobile accident which resulted in the death of his 28-year-old passenger Mary Jo Kopechne trapped inside the vehicle, [4] [5] [6] [7] and the Kennedy family's response. [69] They were heavily in favor of his remaining in office, and he was re-elected in 1970 with 62% of the vote, a margin of nearly a half million votes, but it was down from 74% in the previous election in 1964. It was a consciously assumed position. Gargan then told everyone to get some sleep. He claimed that the current was too strong and that he quickly became too exhausted to keep trying. Depicting Ted Kennedy's involvement in the fatal 1969 car accident that claims the life of a young campaign strategist, Mary Jo Kopechne. In retrospect, the party took on a slightly salacious light all six women were unmarried and under the age of 28, and all six men were married. I recall walking back to where my friends were eating. Farrar testified that Kopechne's body was pressed up in the car in the spot where an air bubble would have formed. Esteemed oceanographer Bernard LeMehaute used data from the channel between Chappaquiddick and Edgartown to ascertain what the current would have been like on the night of the accident. Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received a suspended two-month jail sentence. Could Mary Jo Kopechne have been saved if Kennedy had immediately called for help from a passing residence or pulled the alarm at the fire station? We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. Excavator Large (with steel treads, requires 2 helpers and plywood sheets for deck protection) $173 Farm tractor Small $23 Farm tractor Large $35 Front end loader $75 Fuel truck (pickup size with tanks, includes load) $40 Fuel truck (gas, oil, propane, includes load, 30,000 lbs. Crimmins said that he had chosen to take Kopechne home himself because she wasnt feeling well. One of the lesser tolls of tragedy is the way it taints places. Here are the events that are laid out in the movie, from which the audience can draw their own conclusions, as Allen said. Directed by John Curran. I admit that I approached "Chappaquiddick" with a measure of skepticism and a . A movie about the incident called "Chappaquiddick" is set to open in theaters on Friday. She didn't drown. Had this . Boyle did not recuse himself, even though he had presided over the hearing at which Kennedy pled guilty. In the minds of Americans the word Chappaquiddick has come to symbolize tragedy, mystery and perhaps scandal. He claimed he chose to swim across the harbor channel, as he realized the last ferry had departed at midnight. Miceli, Barbara. Attending the party were Kennedy; his two closest friends Joseph Gargan and Paul Markham; a pair of aides; civil defense official Raymond LaRosa; Mary Jo Kopechne; and five other young women, Kennedy-clan campaign workers and friends of Kopechne. Lange and Katherine DeWitt Jr., authors of Chappaquiddick: The Real Storymaintain that the cold temperature of the water and the condition of the car made it unlikely she survived for any extended period of time. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's 1969 car crash on Chappaquiddick Island killed a woman and ended any aspirations he had of challenging President Richard Nixon in 1972. Welcome to the Chappaquiddick google satellite map! YouTube Videos; Primary Sources; Mary Jo Kopechne, the daughter of an insurance salesman, was born in the village of Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, on 26th July 1940.After graduating from Caldwell College for Women in New Jersey, she moved to Washington where she worked as a secretary for George Smathers and Robert Kennedy.During this time she shared an apartment with . I was unsuccessful in the attempt. Written by investigative journalist John Barron, Chappaquiddick: The Still Unanswered Questions gained national attention. But no one else who testified at the inquestincluding Kennedy himselfremembered Kopechne mentioning feeling sick. He thought a cop was coming after him." The incident severely damaged Kennedy's national reputation and reputation for judgement. Without conducting a full examination or even looking at the entire body, the medical examiner on the scene determined that she had drowned. Yet he continued on to the cottage. I was unfamiliar with the road and turned right onto Dyke [sic] Road,[Notes 5] instead of bearing hard left on Main Street. Map of Chappaquiddick, just off the island of Martha's Vineyard, that shows the locations of the major events of the evening of July 18, 1969, when a car driven by Senator Ted Kennedy crashed. I often have a good sense of what transpired during those two hours, give or take, and dont re, Latines love entertainment. I attempted to open the door and the window of the car, but have no re-collection of how I got out of the car. [13] Gargan rented secluded Lawrence Cottage for the weekend on Chappaquiddick Island,[14] which is a tiny island accessible by ferry from Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard. On July 18, 1969, Senator Ted Kennedys Oldsmobile careened off a 10.5-foot-wide bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Edgartown, Massachusetts, resulting in the death of 28-year-old campaign strategist Mary Jo Kopechne. What really happened at Chappaquiddick Island on the night of July 18, 1969? However, given Kennedy had traveled to Edgartown for the Regatta every summer for thirty years, his claim that he was unfamiliar with the road is questionable. . . Ted Kennedy didn't abandon Mary Jo Kopechne when his car plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island . John Barron, author of the Readers Digestcover story, raised suspicions that Mary Jo, at least, had expected to return. He signed the death certificate to that effect and released the body for embalming, and directed that a blood sample be collected and sent to the State Police for analysis of alcohol content. These behind-the-scenes maneuverings are explored in the 2018 film Chappaquiddick, whose script is based on the historical record, including the inquest into the accident released by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 1970. Whereas five years before Chappaquiddick Kennedy htd won reelection to the Senate with an awesome 75 per cent of the vote, 15 months after Chappaquiddick he was reelected with only 64 per . On January 30, 1801, Congress approved $2,000 for a lighthouse, and four acres of land at Cape Poge were purchased for $36 just a couple of months later. He had no recollection, however, of how he got out of the car. The weekend of the accident, Kennedy operatives had invited Kopechne who continued working in politics after the assassinationand five other women who had worked on the campaign to reunite on the Vineyard in recognition of their work. [4] While attending University of Virginia School of Law (19561959), he had compiled a record of reckless driving and driving without a license. [99] Kopechne was 5ft 2in (1.57m), a foot shorter than Kennedy, and Olsen argued that she might possibly not have seen the bridge as she drove Kennedy's car over unfamiliar roads at night, with no external lighting, and after she had consumed several alcoholic drinks. [52], After President Richard Nixon's security operative Jack Caulfield learned of the incident, he dispatched Anthony Ulasewicz to Dike Bridge in disguise as a newspaper reporter to collect information since he believed Kennedy would be his rival in the 1972 presidential election. T he evening of July 18, 1969, started out as an ordinary midsummer's night for one of America's most extraordinary families. The problem remained how to protect him from a charge of manslaughter. Kopechne told no one else that she was leaving for the night with Kennedy, and, in fact, left her purse and hotel key at the party. Kennedy remained a senator until his death in 2009. This is the damning true story of the death of campaign strategist Mary Jo Kopechne at Chappaquiddick and of the senator37-year-old Senator Ted Kennedywho left her trapped underwater while he returned to . A full ten hours would elapse before hed finally report it. Schedules for the Falmouth ferry are available on the wharf. O n July 18, 1969, Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Massachusetts' Chappaquiddick Island, resulting in the death of his 28-year-old passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne. [26] At the time, the bridge was not fitted with guardrails. While some observers of the case suspected she could have been saved if Kennedy had gone for help earlier, othersincluding James E.T. It took her at least three or four hours to die. The front passenger seat occu- InTrue Compass, a memoir published after his death, Kennedy wrote that his actions the night of the accident were inexcusable, and that he made terrible decisions., He knew at the time the accident would be devastating to his family, Kennedy admitted, as well as damaging to his political career. Kennedy testified that Kopechne told him, when he was about to leave the party, "that she was desirous of leaving" and asked "if I would be kind enough to drop her back at her hotel." Though newspaper headlines at the time identified her simply as a blonde, she was 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, a respected political operative who had worked on the presidential campaign of Senator Kennedys brother, Robert Kennedy. Ted Kennedy's life and political career become derailed in the aftermath of a fatal car accident in 1969 that claims the life of a young campaign strategist, Mary Jo Kopechne. We will likely never have answers to all the questions raised about events of that night in July 1969 that sent a senators car careening off a bridge and Mary Jo Kopechne to a premature death. The findings revealed that, if anything, currents that time of night (around 1:30 am) would have pushed a swimmer inward, toward the bay on the south side of the island, notoutward toward Nantucket Sound, as Kennedy had claimed. So, I ask you tonight, the people of Massachusetts, to think this through with me. 203206. "[20] Witnesses at the party variously placed the time of Kennedy and Kopechne's departure between 11:00 and 11:45p.m.. Kennedy also testified that he never stopped on Cemetery Road, never backed up, never saw the deputy, and never saw another car or person after he left the cottage with Kopechne. The program consisted of an interview with Kennedy; the interview was interspersed with visual materials. [61], Kennedy's court hearing was held before Massachusetts District Court Judge James Boyle on July 25, seven days after the incident. Kennedy said the statement was correct as Arena typed it, but did not sign it. After Gargan and Markham failed to rescue Kopechne, Gargan implored Kennedy to report the incident. How did Kennedy end up driving off the bridge? He interpreted that to mean that she had survived in the air bubble after the car submerged, and he concluded that: Had I received a call within five to ten minutes of the accident occurring, and was able, as I was the following morning, to be at the victim's side within twenty-five minutes of receiving the call, in such event there is a strong possibility that she would have been alive on removal from the submerged car. Now, nearly 50 . According to Kennedy's testimony, the two men asked why he had not reported the accident, and he responded by telling them "about my own thoughts and feelings as I swam across that channel that somehow when they arrived in the morning that they were going to say that Mary Jo was still alive. He engaged in any `` immoral conduct '' with Kopechne or driving under influence! Too strong and that he had presided over the hearing at which Kennedy pled guilty to leaving the of. 74 ] he received a response the next morning her body is in... A car parked in front of the car, according to a charge of leaving the scene of an and... Less water than most drowning victims Gargan implored Kennedy to report the accident that..... ; Chappaquiddick & quot ; with a wealthy U.S. senator my expectations this! Was raised after that by Ted 's parents him from a charge of leaving the scene determined that she drowned... 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