By Gavin Stone, Eliza Noe
The Virginian-Pilot
SUFFOLK, Va. — A 55-year-old Florida man died early Monday morning after the SUV he was driving went off the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel after a two-vehicle crash, causing a multi-hour closure of Interstate 664.
The call came in at 6:58 a.m. and Suffolk Fire & Rescue said one vehicle was in the James River on the south side of the tunnel.
State police said a preliminary investigation has determined a 55-year-old man from Orlando was traveling south in a 2011 Chevy Traverse in the right lane at the time of the crash. Police say the driver changed lanes and hit a 2005 Dodge Durango. The Traverse “spun and went over the bridge wall and into the water,” police said. The driver was not identified. The Durango’s condition was not known.
No structural damage has been reported to the bridge.
A dive team with Suffolk police found the vehicle but crews were initially unable to recover it due to the wind and current, according to state police. By the afternoon, state police said crews made a second attempt.
According to the Newport News Fire Department, crews dove to the vehicle and tethered it to a tow truck on the bridge at about 2:30 p.m.
All lanes of I-664 were closed at the bridge-tunnel for several hours. All lanes were reopened just after 3 p.m.
Rescue crews from Norfolk, Newport News and Suffolk, along with the state police were involved in the search for the vehicle.
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