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Word of the accident swiftly came to the Democratic convention in West Springfield. Teddy's wife, Joan, went to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, arrived at 12:30 a.m., shortly after Teddy reached there in an ambulance. Doctors found the Senator's pulse erratic, his blood pressure "almost negligible." Soon after he arrived, they gave him three blood transfusions.
At 3:40 a.m., Brother Bobby and his sister, Jean Kennedy Smith, arrived after a 100-mile dash from Boston in a state police car. By then, Teddy was able to summon up a wan smile and murmur: "How are you, Bobby?"
The Parents. Teddy Kennedy had suffered two fractured ribs, three broken vertebrae, and assorted cuts and bruises. He would probably be out of action for quite a while, but there were no neurological injuries, no paralysis, no immediate need for surgery. Marvella Bayh was in good condition; Senator Bayh had a severe muscle strain. But Ed Moss, one of Teddy's ablest, most faithful friends, died of brain injuries during surgery. Zimny had died before help came.
Rose and Old Joe Kennedy, at their summer house on Cape Cod, learned of the accident from Niece Ann Gargan when they arose. What passed through their minds can hardly be imagined—of their nine children, they had already lost Joe Jr. and Kathleen in air crashes, Jack by assassination.