Qualla: Chappaquiddick https://qualla.com/chappaquiddick en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/m/g/chappaquiddick-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: Chappaquiddick https://qualla.com/chappaquiddick Chappaquiddick: Introduction https://qualla.com/chappaquiddick/ Photo credit english WP user en:User:Kelisi, CC BY-SA 3.0. Shortly before midnight on July 18, 1969, Senator Edward Kennedy drove his Oldsmobile off Dike Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts. The car flipped into Poucha Pond and sank. Kennedy escaped; his passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, did not. Kennedy didn't report the accident until the next morning, after Kopechne's body was discovered by fishermen. His explanation - that he had made a wrong turn leaving a party, that he had tried to rescue her, that he had been in shock - satisfied few. He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received a suspended sentence. His presidential ambitions, once considered inevitable, were effectively ended. 'Chappaquiddick' entered the lexicon as shorthand for scandal, coverup, and the limits of political privilege. The tiny island and its narrow wooden bridge became permanent symbols of the night Ted Kennedy let a woman drown.

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Image: english WP user en:User:Kelisi | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/m/g/chappaquiddick-wk/drmg-chappaquiddick-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Chappaquiddick: The Party https://qualla.com/chappaquiddick/ Photo credit Arwcheek, CC0. Kennedy had come to Martha's Vineyard for the Edgartown Yacht Club regatta. On the evening of July 18, he attended a party on Chappaquiddick Island - a small island connected to the larger island by a two-car ferry. The gathering was a reunion for the 'boiler room girls,' young w...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/m/g/chappaquiddick-wk/drmg-chappaquiddick-the-party.mp3 0:06 2 full Chappaquiddick: The Accident https://qualla.com/chappaquiddick/ Photo credit Alex Wilcox Cheek, CC BY-SA 4.0. Kennedy's Oldsmobile went off the bridge and landed upside down in the water. Kennedy escaped through an open window. Kopechne did not. Kennedy later said he dove repeatedly trying to rescue her, that the current was too strong, that he was in shock. He walked back to the party c...

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Image: Alex Wilcox Cheek | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/m/g/chappaquiddick-wk/drmg-chappaquiddick-the-accident.mp3 0:06 3 full Chappaquiddick: The Questions https://qualla.com/chappaquiddick/ Photo credit John Phelan, CC BY 3.0. The official account raised more questions than it answered. Why was Kennedy on that road if he was heading for the ferry? Why didn't he report the accident immediately? Could Kopechne have been saved if help had been called? A diver who recovered her body believed she had surviv...

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Image: John Phelan | CC BY 3.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/m/g/chappaquiddick-wk/drmg-chappaquiddick-the-questions.mp3 0:06 4 full Chappaquiddick: The Legacy https://qualla.com/chappaquiddick/ Photo credit Soerfm, CC BY-SA 4.0. Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received a two-month suspended sentence. He won reelection to the Senate in 1970 and served until his death in 2009, becoming the 'Lion of the Senate' and one of the most effective legislators in American history. But...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/m/g/chappaquiddick-wk/drmg-chappaquiddick-the-legacy.mp3 0:06 5 full Chappaquiddick: Visiting Chappaquiddick https://qualla.com/chappaquiddick/ Photo credit Soerfm, CC BY-SA 4.0. Chappaquiddick is a small island off the eastern shore of Martha's Vineyard, accessible by a two-car ferry from Edgartown. The ferry ride takes approximately two minutes. Dike Bridge has been replaced; the current bridge is wider and has guardrails. A small memorial to Kopechne, ...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/m/g/chappaquiddick-wk/drmg-chappaquiddick-visiting-chappaquiddick.mp3 0:06 6 full