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"I found it hard to believe the Senator had been in a major automobile accident. His face bore no traces of any marks. He never sat down or appeared in any kind of physical discomfort. If he had been injured, in shock, or confused, nothing of it lingered in our meeting, to my observation." |
( excerpts from Senatorial Privilege by Leo Damore ) |
9:50 AM |
- When Senator Kennedy and Paul Markham had boarded the ferry en route to the Edgartown police station, Joe Gargan got into the Valiant parked at the Chappaquiddick landing and drove back to the Lawrence cottage. On the way, he encountered LaRosa, Crimmins, the Lyons sisters, and Esther Newberg walking on Chappaquiddick Road, heading for the landing. - Back at the cottage, Gargan ordered Crimmins and LaRosa, "Get all the stuff together: every bottle, every potato chip. I want this place cleaned up immediately." |
- The owner of the cottage was Sydney Lawrence of Scarsdale, New York. After learning of the accident, Lawrence immediately went to Chappaquiddick and inspected the place on Saturday night. He found it had been swept clean of any evidence a party had been held there. "They were real cute about that," he said later. "I only found 8 empty Coke bottles. Even the trash barrels had been emptied." |
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- Once the scene had been cleaned up, Gargan brought the party guests back to the ferry, and then to Edgartown. - The group was taken to the Katama Shores Inn, where they joined Charles Tretter, Rosemary Keough, and Susan Tannenbaum who had left Chappaquiddick with Gargan earlier that morning. With the entire group assembled, Gargan told the girls, "I think what you should do is get off the island as soon as possible. Nobody knows at the moment that any of you are here, so go home and just keep quiet. Don't talk to anybody until we see what develops - that's the best advice I can give you right now." - Gargan had accomplished his clean-up detail with his customary dispatch and efficiency. He had left no evidence behind that a party had taken place at the cottage on Chappaquiddick. And all the guests who had attended had escaped the island before Edgartown police even knew they were there. |
- After Senator Kennedy's car had been removed from Poucha Pond, Arena left the accident scene in the hands of the Registry inspectors, and returned to the police station. When he arrived, he discovered that a large crowd of reporters had already gathered outside. - As Arena entered the office, Markham told him the statement was nearly finished. |
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- Arena took the opportunity to "take a real close look" at Ted Kennedy. "I found it hard to believe the Senator had been in a major automobile accident. His face bore no traces of any marks. He never sat down or appeared in any kind of physical discomfort. If he had been injured, in shock, or confused, nothing of it lingered in our meeting, to my observation." |
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- When Markham had finished the Senator's statement, he handed it to Arena, who was astounded by what he read. No wonder Ted Kennedy was showing no ill effects from the accident. According to his verbatim report, the accident had occurred more than ten hours ago. "On July 18, 1969, at approximately 11:15 PM in Chappaquiddick, Martha's Vinyard, Massachusetts, I was driving my car on Main Street on my way to get the ferry back to Edgartown. I was unfamiliar with the road and turned right onto Dike Road, instead of bearing hard left on Main Street. After proceeding for approximately one-half mile on Dike Road I descended a hill and came upon a narrow bridge. The car went off the side of the bridge. There was one passenger with me, one Miss Mary ( Kennedy was not sure of the spelling of the dead girl's last name, and offered a rough phonetic approximation ), a former secretary of my brother Sen. Robert Kennedy. The car turned over and sank into the water and landed with the roof resting on the bottom. I attempted to open the door and the window of the car but have no recolection of how I got out of the car. I came to the surface and then repeatedly dove down to the car in an attempt to see if the passenger was still in the car. I was unsuccessful in the attempt. I was exhausted and in a state of shock. I recall walking back to where my friends were eating. There was a car parked in front of the cottage and I climbed into the back seat. I then asked for someone to bring me back to Edgartown. I remember walking around for a period of time and then going back to my hotel room. When I fully realized what had happened this morning, I immediately contacted the police." |
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- Senator Kennedy claimed in his statement that he was unfamiliar with the road. |
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- Markham had written out the description of the accident directly from the Senator's dictation. He corrected errors in grammar, but played no part in the deception the Senator had engaged in by failing to mention the party at Chappaquiddick, or in his claim to have been "in shock" after the accident. |
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- Joe Gargan arrived at the police station, where Markham showed him the Senator's completed statement. Gargan "sort of perused it. I didn't read it at that time." He was satisfied that the Senator had admitted being the driver of the accident car. He didn't have to know anything else. - After seeing the statement, Gargan immediately left the police station to tie up all the loose ends: he checked out of the Shiretown Inn, paid for the charter boats, and returned the rented Valiant to the Hertz agency in Edgartown. |
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- After having the statement typed out, Arena gave a copy to Ted Kennedy. The Senator read the statement, and then said he wanted his attorney to look it over before it became part of the record. "Could you please hold it until I talk to Burke Marshall?" he asked. - Arena replied that he still had some questions he wanted to ask, particularly about the long delay in reporting the accident. |
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- Arena then asked to see Ted Kennedy's driver's license. |
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- Massachusetts law required every driver to have a license "upon his person" or in some easily accessible place for presentation after an accident. Police could arrest without warrant and keep in custody for 24 hours any person operating a motor vehicle who did not have a license in his possession. The Senator's inability to produce a license was in clear violation of the law. |
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- Registry Inspector George Kennedy, having just come from the accident scene, arrived at the police station. After formally introducing himself, he read Senator Kennedy his Miranda rights, a recitation usually given prior to an interrogation. - Inspector Kennedy read over the Senator's statement and said, "I would like to know about something." - The Senator was growing anxious to leave the premises, and Markham began calling air charter services seeking to book a flight to Hyannis. - En route to the airport, Senator Kennedy kept muttering, "Oh my God, what has happened? What has happened?" |
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- Police Chief Arena and Registry Inspector Kennedy were left behind with no source of information except for Senator Kennedy's vague statement of the accident. |
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- Chief Arena had unknowingly had two witnesses present, Markham and Gargan, who would have been able to corroborate the Senator's accident report. However, by not "involving" them, Ted Kennedy had guaranteed that they wouldn't be questioned. Instead, Arena had been given the impression that they were merely acting as his attorneys while at the police station. - Markham later recalled that Arena had displayed unusual good will, accommodating to the point of indulgence in his treatment of Senator Kennedy. The police chief appeared to accept the Senator's accident report at face value, giving no indication that he intended to press charges against Kennedy. Instead, he seemed to be handling the accident "as a routine motor vehicle case." |
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