Changes

:More important now than the loose ends of his unsatisfying accounts are the reasons they were left so loose. If Mr. Kennedy used his enormous influence to protect himself by leading a cover-up of misconduct&mdash;and the known facts lead to that suspicion&mdash;there would hang over him not just a cloud of tragedy, but of corruption, of the [[Watergate]] kind.<ref>"The Legacy of Chappaquiddick," ''The New York Times,''  November 7, 1979, p. A30</ref>

:More important now than the loose ends of his unsatisfying accounts are the reasons they were left so loose. If Mr. Kennedy used his enormous influence to protect himself by leading a cover-up of misconduct&mdash;and the known facts lead to that suspicion&mdash;there would hang over him not just a cloud of tragedy, but of corruption, of the [[Watergate]] kind.<ref>"The Legacy of Chappaquiddick," ''The New York Times,''  November 7, 1979, p. A30</ref>

==Incident==

==Time, and a Witness==

According to the testimony of the other party-goers, Kennedy left the party at around 11:15 or 11:30, and party guest Mary Jo Kopechne asked for a ride back to her hotel. Kennedy drove his mother's 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont 88. A deputy sheriff later testified that he saw Kennedy's car on Dyke Road at 12:40 am, and that the driver sped off when he approached it.

According to the testimony of the other party-goers, Kennedy left the party at around 11:15 or 11:30, and party guest Mary Jo Kopechne asked for a ride back to her hotel. Kennedy drove his mother's 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont 88. A deputy sheriff later testified that he saw Kennedy's car on Dyke Road at 12:40 am, and that the driver sped off when he approached it.