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Mary Jo Kopechne Chappaquiddick — Part 1

44 pages · May 10, 2026 · Document date: Jul 18, 1969 · Broad topic: Politics & Activism · Topic: Mary Jo Kopechne Chappaquiddick · 44 pages OCR'd
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Tae ee Ee ainetniinmnmens THE COURT: Did ¥ drive (the Senator) to thg,beack? @HE WITNESS: Yes\'Wour Nonor. . 4) TRE COURT: Did you drive him over the Dike Bridge? THE WITNESS: Yes, I did. : THE COURT: Did you have any a@ifficulty negotiating it? . THE WITNESS: Just the hump. - THE CCUPT: And you brought the car back over the bridgé? THE-WITNESS: Yes, Sir. THE “COURT: And is that an Oldsmobile Model 88? THE WITNESS: Yes, Sir. Now, why not consider a few noteworthy things asout this bit of information? For instance, Mr. Crimmins' use of the ccl- Joquial term, “the hump", regarding the bridge and that His Honor did not have to ask what he meant by it. In fact, acgaaintance with it ‘was indicatéd by his apparent anticipation of @ifficulty. Also, Mr. Crimmins was not asked whether this was his first visit to Chappaquiddick Island, but Mr. Kennedy claimed it 5s his. Mr. Crimmins arrived on Martha's Vineyard on Wednesday, the 16th, and spent that night alone at the cottage. Messrs. Gargan, Mark- ham and LaRosa arrived the next afternoon and evening, but spent the night at the Shiretown Inn. The next day, Friday, the 18th, Mr. Crimmins met the Senator at the local airport and, as we k... from the Senator's testimony, drove him to the cottage, then to the beach. Instead of remaining at the beach, however, Mr. Crim- - mins then went to the Shiretown Inn zna@ Grove the Senztor back to the cottage that evening after the race. The point here is that there was little opportunity for hin to learn such a term for such ‘a remote and obscure structure as the Dike Bridge. Of course, Mr. Crimmins could well have visited the islana@ previously, but he a ~ vgeuv> his resicence as South Boston, his occupation as legal aide and investigator, and part-time chauffeur (evenings awi weekends) for the Senator when the latter is in the Boston area, having en- joyed this relationship for nine years. Where did he get the familiarity? . Anda then, there is the unmistakable and almost inimitable sound made when driving over a wooden bridge of this type, acce?- tuated by “the hump", which is concave on the undersurface, of course, and which probably amplifies and deepens the tone. a Back to the Jones report, it even includes the results of a survey of Dike Road. To the uninitiated, technical terminology descriptive cf the simplest thing can sometimes be almost over— whelming. Here, for example, is the way the licensed surveyors described it, in part: “...the roadway is on tangent for approxi- mately 225°...then curves to the right on a radius of 900° for ap- -- proximately 51°. Frow the end of this curve, the roaiway continues on tangent for approximately 263' to Station 5440. From this. point, the alignment cf the roadway is a series of three (3) close- ly connected curves as it approaches the bridge." Rather than be- ing a good layout for part of en amusement park ride ar a proving- ground corrse, a quick glance at the aerial photo of Bike Road on page 30, U.S. News & World Report, Sept. 15, 1969, will show the curves to be very gentle. In fact, except for possibly the last
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