Driver is Killed as Tractor-Trailer Crashes off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

A tractor-trailer has crashed off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel sparking a major rescue and recovery operation Thursday.

WAVY.com reported on how the a witness called the U.S. Coast Guard at around 10 a.m. on May 15 to report a tractor-trailer over the side of the bridge that links Norfolk to the Eastern Shore near mile marker 15. Media reports said the driver died in the crash. He had been trying to avoid a maintenance vehicle.

An operation was reported to be underway involving a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium from Little Creek, the Cutter Beluga and a helicopter from Elizabeth City.

Tom Anderson, Deputy Director of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, told WAVY.com the big rig struck a maintenance vehicle before crashing through a guardrail and into the water.

According to Anderson the tractor trailer driver failed to see the lane closure until it was too late and swerved, causing the tractor-trailer to jackknife on the northbound span of the CBBT. No maintenance workers were injured in the accident.

Maintenance crews patching cracks in the asphalt on the bridge. The truck driver was reported to be trapped in the cab.

My thoughts are with the family of the tractor trailer driver who lost his life. This crash raises many questions. Did the truck driver fail to notice the work crew? And had the work zone been properly set up?

If you have lost a loved in in an accident due to the fault of another in the Tidewater area or if you have been injured, call Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers at 757.455.0077.