The Coast Guard suspended the search for the driver of a box truck that plummeted from the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel Bridge
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia. – Coast Guard officials said late on Tuesday that they had stopped searching for the driver of a chest truck that plunged into the water after hitting the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel Bridge
The truck crashed around 8:20 am on the east side of the bridge’s northward path, according to officials at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
Firefighters, police and EMS units arrived to find the vehicle floating in the water, said Virginia Beach Fire Department battalion chief Richard Trent.
Witnesses saw a man get out of the truck and float west on the water, Coast Guard officials said. It was not clear whether the driver climbed or fell, said first-class noncommissioned officer Tara Molle.
The Coast Guard rescue team joined the fire department, emergency medical services and police to search for the driver.
According to several media outlets, CBBT officials identified the truck driver as Erik Mezick, 47, from Fruitland, Maryland.
Virginian-Pilot reported that Mezick was driving the truck for Cloverland Greenspring Dairy, a Baltimore-based company that sells food products to hospitals, public and private schools, convenience stores and supermarkets in the Mid-Atlantic region, including Virginia.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is 17.6 miles (28 kilometers) long and runs from Virginia Beach to the east coast. It has two tunnels that run under the surface of the Chesapeake Bay.
¶ About 15 external accidents have occurred since 1984, according to Virginian-Pilot.