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What Happened in Chappaquiddick? 15 Eerie Facts About the Shocking Ted Kennedy Scandal

In 1980, Reader's Digest commissioned reports on tidal conditions and the speed of the car on the night of the fatal crash. Our investigative journalist directly contradicted Kennedy’s account—and some say cost him the election. It's 38 years later, and what have we learned?

By Meghan Jones, RD.com

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This is the house in Chappaquiddick Island, Martha's Vineyard, where a cook-out was held on where Sen. Edward Kennedy hosted a reunion for campaign workers from Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign. Leaving the party on July 18, 1969, Sen. Edward Kennedy drove a car off the Dyke Bridge on Chappaquiddick island, Martha's Vineyard with campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne, who downed in the submerged car. The exterior of this house, site of the Kennedy party, was photographed on Jan. 7, 1970Photo: AP/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

1. The Party

Senator Kennedy was visiting Edgartown to participate in the annual Edgartown Regatta, as he had done for the past 30 years. At his direction, close advisors had rented a cottage and invited a group of friends and campaign workers to a party on Chappaquiddick island after the race. Attending the party were Kennedy; his two closest friends Joseph Gargan and Paul Markham; a pair of aides; civil defense official Raymond LaRosa; Mary Jo Kopechne; and five other young women, Kennedy-clan campaign workers and friends of Kopechne. What began as a celebration earlier in the day would become a haunting tragedy by midnight. Kennedy and Kopechne left the party together at 11 p.m., and only one of them made it back alive.

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