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Date | July 18, 1969 |
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Location | Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts |
Outcome | Ted Kennedy pleaded guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident causing personal injury.[1][2][3] |
Deaths | Mary Jo Kopechne |
The Chappaquiddick incident was a car crash that happened at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, on Friday, July 18, 1969.[4][5] The accident was caused by Senator Ted Kennedy's drunk driving, and resulted in the death of his 28-year-old passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, who was trapped inside the vehicle.[6][7][8][9]
The Chappaquiddick incident became a nationally known scandal, while occurring during the Apollo 11 spaceflight. Many said the incident led to Kennedy's decision not to campaign for President in 1972 and 1976.[7][8][9]
A movie was made of the incident in 2017 with Jason Clarke as Kennedy and Kate Mara as Kopechne.