<Tr> <Th> Political party </Th> <Td> Democratic Party </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Parent (s) </Th> <Td> Joseph and Gwen Kopechne </Td> </Tr> <P> Mary Jo Kopechne (/ koʊˈpɛkni /; July 26, 1940--July 18, 1969) was an American teacher, secretary, and political campaign specialist who died in a car accident at Chappaquiddick Island on July 18, 1969, while she was a passenger in a car being driven by U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy . </P> <P> Kopechne was born in Wilkes - Barre, Pennsylvania, although she is sometimes described as being from nearby Forty Fort, Pennsylvania . She was an only child . Her father, Joseph Kopechne, was an insurance salesman, and her mother, Gwen (née Jennings), was a homemaker . Kopechne was of part Polish heritage . Two of her grandparents were coal miners from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and her family history in the Wyoming Valley area of northeastern Pennsylvania goes back 250 years . </P>

Who was the woman that died at chappaquiddick