My Summer Vacation: The visit to Dike Bridge on Chappiquiddick Island, the crime scene.

[1Old Pro]

Having never visited Martha's Vineyard we decided to take the Wood's Hole Ferry over for the day and explore. It's a really great Island and I'd recommend it to anyone. Right accross from Edgartown is Chappiquidick or "Chappy" as the locals call it. Here I was, just minutes from the infamous bridge and I knew I had to see it, drive around and see for myself. It's all there, just like it was in 1969, very little "development". The bridge now has side rails that look fairly new but I don't know when it was rebuilt. 1) Kennedy never made a "mistaken turn". The road is dirt and bumpy, any idiot would know it was the road to the beach. 2) The car was only under about 2-3 feet of water. He was simply too drunk or unwilling to dive to the car. 3) There was only one thing he was attempting to do that late evening. He was driving to the beach to be alone with Mary Jo and....whatever. I found this very good account of what Teddy did and didn't do the night he drove off the bridge:

[1Old Pro]

[1Old Pro]

Here's the hotlink for detailed accounts of the accident: http://www.ytedk.com/chappindex.htm

[1Old Pro]

[Sam Cree]

Ha! A freeper's eye view of Martha's Vineyard.

[Redleg Duke]

I often wondered why he alledgedly went under water so many times, but then, I realized how difficult it is to fasten a bra strap under water in the dark...particularly when the subject is struggling.

[1Old Pro]

My wife gave up an hour of shopping to allow me this "side trip".

[1Old Pro]

Not to mention buttoning the shirt.

[nightdriver]

I remember that ol' Teddy came up with three different stories about what happened at Chappiquiddick and the lapdog media believed all three.

[Sloth]

I'm so glad Teddy was around to lead the Kennedy clan during the search for JFK Jr.'s plane, what with his experience in water rescues.

[w_over_w]

What golf course did you play?

[1Old Pro]

What golf course did you play?

LOL, next year I'll send the wife shopping and play.

[1Old Pro]

I'm so glad Teddy was around to lead the Kennedy clan during the search for JFK Jr.'s plane, what with his experience in water rescues damage control, media manipulation, etc.

[1Old Pro]

I remember that ol' Teddy came up with three different stories about what happened at Chappiquiddick and the lapdog media believed all three.

Yep, even the police fell down on the job.

[Sam Cree]

If I remember right, the fact that Ted walked home and went to bed, rather than get help, may have been the lady's death sentence.

That's a pretty part of the world, the New England coastal area. And islands are special.

[1Old Pro]

Many articles suggest that she could have survived for hours in the car. The people who retrieved her said her head was positioned to breathe in the air caught in the car.

The undertaker noted hardly any water in her lungs, he believed she died of lack of air. and top it all off....NO AUTOPSY.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

The information on that site is scary. And to think this man is sitting in the US Senate ....... and I don't give a tinker's d*&^*^%&*^#^ about him being a Kennedy!

[1Old Pro]

And to think this man is sitting in the US Senate

The media is totally to blame then and now. It's like they are afraid to mention this even knowing that ole Ted hoddwinked the police, the media, the people.

[Maceman]

I'm guessing that one of Ted Kennedy's least favorite movies is Ghost Story (1981), with its spooky New England-based tale of horror.

In the film, John Houseman, Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks and Melvyn Douglas play four old men who entertain each other by telling ghost stories. But these men are tormented by their own horrendous real-life tale, involving a crime they committed against a young lady during their youth -- an act they've hidden for the past 50 years. But this secret comes back to haunt them, as the evil spirit of the woman avenges the crime committed against her.

Actress Alice Krige as Eva Galley, futilely attempting to claw her way out of a submerging automobile after a night of youthful carousing by the then-young rogues Houseman, Astaire, Douglas and Fairbanks.

[b4its2late]

Did you get a chance to speak to any of the locals about it?

[1Old Pro]

[joesnuffy]

No fan of any Kennedy other than D James Kennedy
The Clinton (and co conspirators) body count from the Mena Int'l Import Airport to Little Rock, to Washington D.C. makes the Kennedys look like almost beneign
(not counting any relationships with the likes of Lucciano, Siegel, Lansky, Annansis and crews)

[1Old Pro]

I was tempted to walk up to the two houses closest to the bridge but figured that I wouldn't get a good reception.

[1Old Pro]

not counting any relationships with the likes of Lucciano, Siegel, Lansky, Annansis and crews

The Kennedy's were "tied" to lots of things, like the klintoons, but the media is too afraid to investigate.

[mountaineer]

So Teddy and Mary Jo went into the drink on the right side of the map (point "A"), but then Teddy supposedly swam to Edgartown, on the left side of the map (point "E")? If so, I'm even more amazed than ever before that this guy escaped justice.

[1Old Pro]

the evil spirit of the woman avenges the crime committed against her.

Wishful thinking

[joesnuffy]

The diagram pic is interesting..the water level was either leaked to its last level or breathed to its last level or both Was there sediment at the bottom -muck or mud that might have kept the doors from being opened or blocked the widows..or was the bottom solid as the de-piction seems to indicate?

[1Old Pro]

It's about a 3-4 minute ferry ride, a few hundred yards. If he could swim to Edgartown I would think he could have saved the girl. I think his first thought was to split the scene and simply say she was driving alone. He didn't want anyone to know, at first, that he was alone with her. The whole thing ,akes him unfit to serve. I'm simply amazed that he gets elected.

[1Old Pro]

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the water level was either leaked to its last level or breathed to its last level or both

That was the effect of the tide I'm guessing.

The bottom was not obstructing the windows

[Radix]

Fat Teddy is a puke, and the media for reasons indiscernible to me has been watching his back for 40 years or more.

He should be in prison, for murder, as well as for treason, and other crimes. He is scum of the highest order. By the way, my other Senator is a Viet Nam veteran, and he is running for president.

 

 

A site of possible interest is linked here!

[1Old Pro]

Yep, that site is very informative.

[Sam Cree]

I don't understand how he gets elected either. Clearly the girl had a chance if he hadn't waited until the next day to tell anyone. Reckon he was trying to decide on a story instead of worrying about the girl.

I think he walked to the ferry dock, then swam across. There's terrific current there when the tide's running, like much of the New England coastal area. Swimming across had to have been difficult, unless it was slack tide.

[swilhelm73]

I lived on MV for a summer back in 92. I could swear the bridge Teddy drove off was gone, as the only way to get to Chappy was to take the ferry, unless they've rebuilt the bridge since then.

If you get a chance, biking Chappy is alot of fun...

[One_who_hopes_to_know]

In one of the many documentaries on this topic, one of them really rings true. In a nutshell they postulated:

1. Ted and Mary Jo were parked and suprised by a police car

2. After driving ahead Ted jumped out and walked back to the party to avoid being caught by the police with Mary Jo

3. Mary Jo went in the drink by herself and was too drunk to get out.

4. Ted was informed the next morning

5. He made up the story because he felt it was better than confessing he was a coward that ran off and left her on her own.

A police officer confirms coming up on the car that evening

Also, the hotel where Ted stayed said he was very calm the next morning but was really shook up after someone came by to talk with him. After which they both left in a hurry.

[TRY ONE]

"Also, the hotel where Ted stayed said he was very calm the next morning but was really shook up after someone came by to talk with him. After which they both left in a hurry."

But several weeks earlier, Mary Jo came to Teddy and said, "Teddy, I think I'm pregnant" ---- then Teddy said "We'll cross that bridge when we get there"

[ErnBatavia]

And we won't even address how tough it must be to put pantyhose on under water...

[TRY ONE]

"The bridge now has side rails that look fairly new but I don't know when it was rebuilt. Kennedy never made a "mistaken turn". The road is dirt and bumpy, any idiot would know it was the road to the beach."

I, too, vacationed in Martha's Vineyard during the 1970's. Out of curiosity I rode my bike from Edgartown to Chappiquidick. At the time I was amazed at the very good condition of the bridge. I remember thinking "How the hell could amyone run a car off this bridge?"

Also, one of Teddy's alibi's at the time was he did not know he had turned off the road onto the Chappiquidick bridge. I was amazed because the road to the bridge was a dirt road, so rocky that I could not ride my bike --- I had to get off and push it the last 1/4 mile. No way in hell he got on that rocky road by mistake!

[Redleg Duke]

Forget that...the buttons probably got ripped off anyway!

There are some folks as nasty as me on here this afternoon! :-)

[Sam Cree]

I don't think that rings true.

I just read the link from #29 and what it says is substantially what I remember from following it when I was in college then.

[One_who_hopes_to_know]

The evidence here supports the premise reached in the documentary I watched. This is from the link from #29 ...

4) - Kennedy would later use lawyer-client privilege to prevent Gargan and Markham from giving any information to authorities. For the next 8 hours, they would be the only people on the island who were even aware of the accident.

.- Senator Kennedy's actions do not reflect a state of shock, but instead suggest a deliberate and calculated effort to cover up his involvement in the accident, while at the same time concealing the fate of Mary Jo Kopechne from those who could have saved her.

Forget attorney client privilege. There is no way that two lawyers would go home and go to bed knowing that a woman was in a car in the drink. Kennedy called them out to discuss what to do if the cop ("Huck" Look) had picked up the girl. They had no idea what actually happened until the next morning when the car and the body were found.

[1Old Pro]

I could swear the bridge Teddy drove off was gone, as the only way to get to Chappy was to take the ferry, unless they've rebuilt the bridge since then.

There are 2 three car ferries that shuttle cars back and forth to Chappy....that's not where the bridge was. You must first take the ferry to chappy Island and then drive to turn, take Dike road, and that brings you to the bridge.

[Hatteras]

What golf course did he play?

Why this one, of course...

[Richard Kimball]

Why'd they name the bridge after Hillary?

[1Old Pro]

No way in hell he got on that rocky road by mistake!

My feeling exactly. I'm 110% certain he is/was guilty of manslaughter, he walked because he's a Kennedy, and now everyone is afraid to even admit this truth.

If I were a reporter at a pres conference my first question to him would be "How do you sleep at night knowing what you did to Mary Jo and how you covered it up.?"

[1Old Pro]

Why'd they name the bridge after Hillary?

She loves to vacation at MV with her "friends".

[w_over_w]

LOL! You're a funny guy! I can't wait to see the discount coupons for your beer, bait, and bicycle shop. Any thoughts on what you'll name it? ;^)

[dead]

I have a funny story that relates to this thread.

My sister’s high school friend married into the Kennedy family. She married one of Teddy’s cousins. The guy’s father was co-host of the famous “Chappaquiddick party” and was one of the lawyers involved in the cover-up.

Well the Kennedy cousin and my sister’s friend are coming to stay at my sister’s beach house for a few days. She warns my father, a die-hard conservative, not to talk politics with the guy. She doesn’t want to embarrass the guy or have them argue. Besides, she’s pretty sure the Kennedy cousin is actually Republican and doesn’t like to discuss his family’s political background. So she is absolutely insistent that he not discuss any political issues.

So they’re there for a while, sitting outside chatting, and my sister goes inside to get some refreshments, leaving my father alone with the guy and his wife.

A few minutes later, the wife comes in laughing and says to my sister, “You have to hear what you’re father is out there talking about!” My sister says, “I told him not to talk politics!” And her friend says, “He’s not. He’s talking to about how nice the beaches in Chappaquiddick are!”

[1Old Pro]

He’s talking to about how nice the beaches in Chappaquiddick are!”

Not only is he correct, he sounds like a real funny character

[dead]

He certainly is that.

[Sam Cree]

"There is no way that two lawyers would go home and go to bed knowing that a woman was in a car in the drink."

IMO, the scenario depicted is reasonable, as it states that the two lawyers had expected Ted to report the accident. They easily could have left it to him, not wanting to step on his toes. Things get out of control and worse things than this have happened. However, perhaps it is arguable either way regarding Gargan and Markham.

I gather you are saying that Ted was not even in the car at the time of the accident and didn't know about it until the following day?

I was 21 at the time and remember the news reports pretty well, as our family was interested in the event. The way it was reported then was that Ted and MJK drove off the bridge, Ted escaped and later swam the channel to Edgartown, in the middle of the night, and reported the event next morning.

As it seems he signed a statement to that effect at the time, I am somewhat skeptical that it is now being said that he wasn't in the car at all. I remember being amazed at the time that Kennedy hadn't gotten help immediately, as you and I would have done. But I guess the guy had a career to think about.

[Wacka]

Isn't Alice Krige the woman who played the Borg Queen in the Star trek movie?