The Chappaquiddick incident occurred on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, United States, sometime around midnight between July 18 and 19, 1969, when United States Senator Ted Kennedy drove his car off a narrow bridge, causing it to overturn in Poucha Pond. The crash resulted in the death of his 28-year-old passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, who was trapped inside the vehicle.
Ted Kennedy in 1968
The Dike Bridge is accessible only by a dirt road, and leads to dead-end sand dunes past Poucha Pond. The guardrail was not present in 1969.
Dike House, along Dike Road, is 150 yards from the bridge.
National Lampoon fake VW Beetle ad mocking the incident.
Chappaquiddick Island is a peninsula and occasional island off the eastern end of Martha's Vineyard. Norton Point, a narrow barrier beach, connects Martha's Vineyard and Chappaquiddick between Katama and Wasque. Breaches occur due to hurricanes and strong storms separating the islands for periods of time. The two islands most recently reconnected on December 31, 2023. While both land forms have mostly been connected to one another in modern history, Chappaquiddick is nevertheless referred to as an island.
Chappaquiddick Island
Toms Neck Road on Chappaquiddick Island
The area between Norton Point, Edgartown, and Wepua Point, Chappaquiddick. This was the 2022 to 2023 breach, opening up Katama Bay to the Atlantic Ocean to the south.
The On Time II shuttling passengers between mainland Martha's Vineyard and Chappaquiddick
