The first trailer for the biopic on Ted Kennedy's fateful night five decades ago when he crashed his car off a bridge has just been released.

The upcoming movie, Chappaquiddick, will attempt to tell the story of what happened in the aftermath of the infamous 1969 incident involving Senator Kennedy.

Kennedy, who was behind the wheel at the time, managed to escape after his car plunged into a river off the Dike Bridge on the island of Chappaquiddick on July 18.

The upcoming movie, Chappaquiddick, stars Jason Clarke as Senator Ted Kennedy and attempts to tell the story of what happened on the fateful night five decades ago

His passenger, 28-year-old campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne, did not survive.

The film, which stars Jason Clarke as Senator Kennedy and Kate Mara as Kopechne, focuses on why it took the Kennedy family 10 hours to report the accident and the subsequent inquest into the crash.

The trailer, which was first published by People on Wednesday, shows the moment the car crashed off the bridge and a screaming Kopechne trying to escape the submerged vehicle.

'Oh my God, what have I done?' Kennedy says in the trailer.

Kennedy, who was behind the wheel at the time, managed to escape after his car plunged into a river off the Dike Bridge on the island of Chappaquiddick on July 18

Kennedy's passenger, 28-year-old campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne, did not survive. She is played by Kate Mara (above) in the film

Following the accident, Kennedy claimed he had accidentally crashed off the bridge after making a wrong turn following a party earlier that night.

He said he had tried to save Kopechne but fled the scene and didn't report the crash to Edgartown police until the following day.

In his own admission, he described his failure to report the accident as 'indefensible'. Instead of immediately reporting the crash, he went back to his motel, took a shower and went to bed.

The Senator later pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of the accident and was sentenced to a year of probation.

He gave a televised statement denying that he had been drinking or that he was romantically involved with Kopechne. Some speculated that he had been drunk, hence the nine hour delay.

Following the accident, Kennedy said he had tried to save Kopechne but fled the scene. The crash wasn't reported to police until 10 hours later

The trailer shows the moment the car crashed off the bridge and a screaming Kopechne (played by Mara) trying to escape the submerged vehicle

The movie, which advertises itself as the 'untold true story', shows what happened behind the scenes as the Kennedy family grappled with the incident.

'What do we do to help the Senator?' a female staffer asks in the trailer.

Kennedy responds: 'We tell the truth, or at least our version of it.'

The film is directed by John Curran and also stars Bruce Dern as Ted's father Joe Kennedy and Ed Helms as lawyer Joe Gargan.

It is scheduled to be released in April.