4. Kennedy Claimed His Actions Were Due to a Concussion and Shock
One of the press’ first questions to Senator Kennedy was why he didn’t report the accident to authorities immediately. This oversight allowed for rampant speculation on if he’d been drinking, if he’d in some way harmed Kopechne, if he’d actually been driving her to a secluded place for sex, and other theories. Kennedy quickly seized on the idea that his actions were due to a head injury and shock at the accident. His official statement referred to his being exhausted and in a state of shock during the night of the incident. This was encouraged by his legal and advisory team, who quickly sought a diagnosis for a mild concussion.
Famously, when he attended Kopechne’s funeral with his wife, Joan, he was wearing a large and noticeable neck brace despite never complaining of or showing any sign of neck discomfort after the accident. However, the display worked and garnered some amount of sympathy for Kennedy who looked pale and ill when attending the funeral. Throughout his life, Kennedy heavily relied on the defense that he was in shock and confused by a head injury after the accident, and always denied that alcohol played any role in his behavior. Even in his televised statement to the nation, he blamed a “jumble of emotions.”