Changes

==Incident==

==Incident==

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.<ref name="Bly"/> Kennedy drove his mother's 1967 Olds 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 Olds 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 Kennedy, he made a wrong turn onto an unlit dirt road that led to [[Dike Bridge]] (also spelled Dyke Bridge), a wooden bridge angled obliquely to the road with no guardrail, and drove over its side.  The car plunged into tide-swept [[Poucha Pond]] (at that location a channel) and came to rest upside down underwater.  Kennedy later recalled that he was able to swim free of the vehicle, but Kopechne was not.  Kennedy claimed at the inquest that he called Kopechne's name several times from the shore, then tried to swim down to reach her seven or eight times, then rested on the bank for several minutes before returning on foot to Lawrence Cottage, where the party attended by Kopechne and other [["Boiler Room Girls"]] had occurred.   

According to Kennedy, he made a wrong turn onto an unlit dirt road that led to Dike Bridge, a wooden bridge angled obliquely to the road with no guardrail, and drove over its side.  The car plunged into tide-swept Poucha Pond (at that location a channel) and came to rest upside down underwater.  Kennedy later recalled that he was able to swim free of the vehicle, but Kopechne was not.  Kennedy claimed at the inquest that he called Kopechne's name several times from the shore, then tried to swim down to reach her seven or eight times, then rested on the bank for several minutes before returning on foot to Lawrence Cottage, where the party attended by Kopechne and other "Boiler Room Girls" had occurred.   

According to one commentator, his route back to the cottage would have taken him past four houses from which he could have telephoned and summoned help; however, he did not do so.

According to one commentator, his route back to the cottage would have taken him past four houses from which he could have telephoned and summoned help; however, he did not do so.

Back at his hotel, Kennedy complained at 2:55 am to the hotel owner that he had been awoken by a noisy party.  By 7:30 am the next morning he was talking "casually" to the winner of the previous day's sailing race, with no indication that anything was amiss.  At 8 a.m., Gargan and Markham joined Kennedy at his hotel where they had a "heated conversation", even though the ferry operator did not see them take the ferry to get to Edgartown. The three men subsequently crossed back to Chappaquidick Island on the ferry, where Kennedy made a series of phone calls from a payphone by the crossing to his friends for advice; he again did not report the accident to authorities.

Back at his hotel, Kennedy complained at 2:55 am to the hotel owner that he had been awoken by a noisy party.  By 7:30 am the next morning he was talking "casually" to the winner of the previous day's sailing race, with no indication that anything was amiss.  At 8 a.m., Gargan and Markham joined Kennedy at his hotel where they had a "heated conversation", even though the ferry operator did not see them take the ferry to get to Edgartown. The three men subsequently crossed back to Chappaquidick Island on the ferry, where Kennedy made a series of phone calls from a payphone by the crossing to his friends for advice; he again did not report the accident to authorities.

Earlier that morning, two fishermen had seen the overturned car in the water and had called the police. A diver was sent down and discovered Kopechne's body. The diver later testified at the inquest that Kopechne's body was pressed up in the car in the spot where an air bubble would have formed.  He interpreted this to mean that Kopechne had survived for a while after the initial accident in the air bubble, and concluded that {{cquote|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. Police checked the car's license plate and saw that it was registered to Kennedy. When Kennedy, still at the pay phone by the ferry crossing, saw that the body had been discovered, he crossed back to Edgartown and went to the police station: Gargan simultaneously went to the hotel where the Boiler Room Girls were staying to inform them about the incident. Kennedy discussed the accident with several people, including his lawyer and Kopechne's parents, before discussing it with the police the next morning.

Earlier that morning, two fishermen had seen the overturned car in the water and had called the police. A diver was sent down and discovered Kopechne's body. The diver later testified at the inquest that Kopechne's body was pressed up in the car in the spot where an air bubble would have formed.  He interpreted this to mean that Kopechne had survived for a while after the initial accident in the air bubble, and concluded that  

{{cquote|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.}}

Police checked the car's license plate and saw that it was registered to Kennedy. When Kennedy, still at the pay phone by the ferry crossing, saw that the body had been discovered, he crossed back to Edgartown and went to the police station: Gargan simultaneously went to the hotel where the Boiler Room Girls were staying to inform them about the incident. Kennedy discussed the accident with several people, including his lawyer and Kopechne's parents, before discussing it with the police the next morning.

 

Ted Kennedy is still sometimes referred to sarcastically as the [[Hero of Chappaquiddick]].

==References==

==References==

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