July 18, 1969 saw the death of campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne, when a car driven by what famed politician went off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, MA, an accident from which he was the only survivor?
Mary Jo Kopechne Mary Jo Kopechne Mary Jo Kopechne (; July 26, 1940 – July 18, 1969) was an American teacher, secretary, and political campaign specialist who died in a car accident at Chappaquiddick Island on July 18, 1969, while she was a passenger in a car being driven by U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy. Kopechne was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, although she is sometimes described as being from nearby Forty Fort, Pennsylvania. She was an only child. Her father, Joseph Kopechne, was an insurance salesman, and her mother, Gwen (née Jennings), was a homemaker. Kopechne was of part Polish heritage. Two of her
Martha's Vineyard of sociolinguistics. The island received international notoriety after the "Chappaquiddick incident" of July 18, 1969, in which Mary Jo Kopechne was killed in a car driven off the Dike Bridge by U.S. Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy. The bridge crossed Poucha Pond on Chappaquiddick Island (a smaller island formerly connected to the Vineyard and part of Edgartown). As a foot bridge, it was intended for people on foot and bicycles, as well as the occasional emergency vehicle when conditions warranted. Currently, 4×4 vehicles with passes are allowed to cross the reconstructed bridge. On November 23, 1970, in the Atlantic Ocean just