In the history of political scandals, Ted Kennedy’s Chappaquiddick incident remains one of the most damaging scandals. With the release of the 2018 film “Chappaquiddick,” it revisits the 1969 accident in which Mary Jo Kopechne, a young political staffer, died.
According to the BBC, among the guests were six female political strategists, nicknamed the Boiler Room Girls. Mary Jo Kopechne was one of the guests who had also attended the party. Kennedy testified that by 11 PM, he was about to leave the party with Kopechne.
On this day in history in 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, killing 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, who was trapped inside the vehicle.
Kennedy escaped but failed to report the accident for 10 hours. He tried to rescue Kopechne and… pic.twitter.com/8Z2Qqj8Owc
— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) July 18, 2025
She decided to leave with Kennedy without informing her friends, leaving her handbag and room key behind. He had offered her a ride to the ferry landing, so that she could return to her hotel in Edgartown. It was during their drive to the ferry that the accident occurred. Brian Saxton, a BBC reporter, said,
“The senator said he took a wrong turning on a night and was lost, although it’s known he was familiar with the island,” said Saxton. As Kennedy drove down the unlit Dyke Road, his car veered off a narrow, wooden bridge which had no railings, and plunged into a cold tidal pond.”
The car landed on its roof and started filling up with water. He escaped the car, and instead of reporting the accident, he returned to the reunion and sought help by informing his cousin, Joe Gargan, and Paul Markham.
The two drove to the scene and took turns diving into the water to rescue Mary Jo Kopechne, but were pushed away by the strong currents. Both Gargan and Markham suggested that he report the accident to the police and return to the party. Surprisingly, they too did not inform the other guests attending the party.
Since the last ferry was long gone, Kennedy decided to swim across the channel to Edgartown. After reaching the other side, he was exhausted and went to his hotel. Instead of calling the police, he went to his room, removed his clothes, and crashed into his bed.
Jim Arena, Edgartown’s police department chief, received a phone call about a vehicle that sank in the Dyke Bridge. Chief Jim attempted to swim to the vehicle, but the tide was too powerful. A scuba diver went beneath the vehicle and confirmed there was a body inside. Within the vehicle, they discovered a pocketbook, which led them to believe it belonged to Rosemary Keough.
The Chappaquiddick incident happened during the same time as the Apollo 11 moon landing.
The key facts:
– Chappaquiddick incident — July 18–19, 1969 (the car accident occurred late on July 18, 1969, and Ted Kennedy reported it the morning of July 19).
– Apollo 11 moon landing —…
— VigilantVet 🇺🇸 (@_____USA___) February 8, 2026
The Police Chief called the station to locate Kennedy, but he was already waiting in his office. He expressed his remorse over the loss of Ms. Keough, but the Senator corrected him, saying it was Miss Kopechne. Arena said,
“[Kennedy] didn’t appear like he was injured or anything, he appeared clear-eyed, normal, actually. He didn’t appear to be disturbed or he certainly didn’t appear to be under the influence of anything.”
According to The Washington Post, in 1970, Ted Kennedy testified at an inquest ordered by Edmund Dinis, the Massachusetts District Attorney. James A. Boyle, the judge, found several inconsistencies with the Senator’s account of the incident, including Boyle’s opinion of negligent driving that led to Ms. Kopechne’s death.
No additional charges were filed against Kennedy, and later a grand jury convened to investigate the incident, but it was dismissed on legal technicalities. In the aftermath of the incident, party members believed his presidential aspirations were over, according to Newsweek.
While Senator Kennedy lost his dream of becoming president, he had discussed the incident one last time in his memoir, True Compass. He called it a “horrible tragedy” that kept haunting him every day of his life. He explained that the incident led to numerous “false, bizarre, and evil theories” that should not be repeated.
