Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed

Pamela Kelley was a friend of the Kennedys who started dating David Kennedy, Bobby’s son, in 1973. In August, she, her sister Kim, David, and his brother Joe headed to Nantucket for a beach trip. While driving, Joe smoked marijuana and drove dangerously, eventually flipping his Jeep and sending the passengers flying.

Pamela was thrown almost 30 feet before colliding with a tree stump. The accident left her paralyzed and using a wheelchair. Joe was fined $100 by a judge who was friendly with the Kennedys. Though they originally offered support, they quickly started to “minimize her agony” both to her face and to others (174). Pamela’s new limitations emotionally shattered her. She refused to sue the Kennedy family, however, stating that friends don’t sue one another. Joe promised her after the accident that whatever she needed, he would provide. That promise soon proved hollow, however, when Joe told her, “I’m not made of money” (176), despite his family’s wealth and his business success. Over the 47 years after the accident, he made more than $2 million but gave her only $50,000 total to cover her medical needs, not nearly enough. In 1999, she finally spoke out about the Kennedy family’s neglect.