Chappaquiddick

[HALL85]

Took my wife for Mother's Day to see it (her choice).

Would highly recommend it, especially if you lived through it (I was 12). Completely forgot that the accident happened the same weekend that Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. I does not paint a favorable picture of Ted (selfish and entitled), and having done some research found that the two screen writers used transcripts from the inquest that was done six months after he pled guilty and got the suspended two month sentence.

 

[batts]

Ted got away with vehicular manslaughter because of family connections. I don't know how that slime was able to live with himself after killing that poor girl.

 

[Pirata]

A couple years ago I was curious about the incident and read all the accounts and info I could find.

The most chilling part about that tragedy was that Mary Jo survived the crash and slowly died of suffocation in a dark car immersed in water except for her shoulders and head.

The common belief is that had Ted alerted the police and anyone he could, they would have been able to dispatch a diver to the scene and she could have been saved. Instead he chose to spend his time figuring out how he could get out of the mess while she lay there dying.

Anybody else likely would have spent some time in prison for it.

It must have been agony for the parents for the rest of their lives thinking about the way she died.

Fast forward a few years and there were a lot of young people who were not aware of the event who later viewed Kennedy as a saint because of his perceived compassion for the downtrodden. Mary Jo's destiny was to be collateral damage in his quest for fame and power.

All in all it is a tragic chapter in history.

 

[HALL85]

A couple years ago I was curious about the incident and read all the accounts and info I could find.

The most chilling part about that tragedy was that Mary Jo survived the crash and slowly died of suffocation in a dark car immersed in water except for her shoulders and head.

The common belief is that had Ted alerted the police and anyone he could, they would have been able to dispatch a diver to the scene and she could have been saved. Instead he chose to spend his time figuring out how he could get out of the mess while she lay there dying.

Anybody else likely would have spent some time in prison for it.

It must have been agony for the parents for the rest of their lives thinking about the way she died.

Fast forward a few years and there were a lot of young people who were not aware of the event who later viewed Kennedy as a saint because of his perceived compassion for the downtrodden. Mary Jo's destiny was to be collateral damage in his quest for fame and power.

All in all it is a tragic chapter in history.

John, that time lag and the way Mary Jo ultimately died was referenced in the movie. Sickening. Did some research after seeing the movie and while Kopechne's parents were originally dismissive about Ted's culpability, that changed over time. He never personally expressed his sorrow and apologized to them.

If you are a Kennedy, this movie ripped the Band-Aid off a very old scab. But then again, very few of them are still alive and it was 50 years ago.

Given that they primarily used the inquest as the basis of the movie, they did downplay the affair piece in the movie (and I don't think they wanted it to get sidetracked and about sex on the beach). But with the timeline of events you would be hard-pressed to think something intimate didn’t happen on the beach before the accident.

Finally, didn’t realize that Mary Jo had very strong ties to New Jersey, having lived in Berkeley Heights with her parents, a graduate of Caldwell college, and assisting on the campaign of Mayor Whelan in Jersey City.

 

[Pirata]

I wasn't aware of the Jersey ties. I've always associated her with Scranton Pennsylvania.

Whether there was or wasn't an affair is a diversion.

If you study the timeline and his travels with the testimony of the headlights making turns Etc there are three scenarios. He was headed down to the beach to go for a late-night dip with her or he was headed down to the beach to go skinny-dipping with her or he was heading down to the beach for some sex on the beach. Maybe a combination of all three. Contrast that with him trying to convince everybody that he was driving her back to the ferry is the real issue. All that being said at the end of the day she's dead. The least he could do is admit to what he was doing that night with her.

You also have to add in that he was drunk. If you look at the forensics for the tire tracks and the angle that the bridge is tilted relative to the approach road, he simply drove too fast with too much alcohol and drove off the right side of the bridge as he hit it.

But if you look at the pressure on him to excel and achieve what was expected of a Kennedy he knew that he was screwed. He was a man of weak character and did not accept the fundamental responsibility of the mistake he made.

You and I have daughters. I got to think either one of us would have had a first reaction to get as much help as possible to get her out of the car. No job, career fame, or otherwise would be worth sacrificing a young woman like that.

 

[HALL85]

Couldn’t agree more. The movie was about her death and his failure to act and twisted priorities. Leaving out what may have happened on the beach was the right thing to do...would have detracted from what was really important.

The one thing that didn’t make total sense was how was he able to get out of the car with the windows rolled up (pressure working against you)? And then he and then the two other guys weren’t able to open them when water pressure wasnt an issue?

 

[Pirata]

The one thing that didn’t make total sense was how was he able to get out of the car with the windows rolled up

The driver side window was rolled down per the testimony of the Farrar (the diver).

https://www.cwporter.com/ytedk6.htm

Full Timeline: https://www.cwporter.com/ytedk1.htm

Given it was summer, good chance the window was rolled down prior to the incident. Generally accepted theory is that he exited that window.

Here is an interview with Farrar:

 

[HALL85]

That makes more sense about his exit, but it does make you question then how Kennedy, Garagan and Markham all were unable to reach her through an open window in shallow water. Unless they all never really attempted to.

 

[Pirata]

Those three and the rest in the house chose to remain silent. The truth lies with them.

There is another theory floating that Mary Jo was asleep in the back seat and Ted did not know she was there. He was with Rosemary Keough and headed to the beach. The car flipped and he and Keough got out and headed back to the house wherein they discovered Mary Jo missing. After figuring out she was in back set, they had a "oh shit" and headed back to the bridge.

Here is the book on that one:

Amazon product ASIN 1455621145