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Virginia Legal News

Car Plunges into Water from Chesapeake Bay Bridge


Posted on Mar 30, 2011

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Police have positively identified a woman who was killed when her car ran off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and plunged into the water, according to a report in the online edition of the Richmond-Times Dispatch on March 16, 2011. This marks the first time in five years that a car has fallen from the bridge into the bay.

Local police say that the corpse of 51-year-old Jean Calcagno of Virginia Beach, VA was recovered from the wreckage of her submerged car, a large sports utility vehicle (SUV).

The U.S. Coast Guard, which has jurisdiction over the waters of the bay, indicated that there were initial fears that two persons were in the car when it flew off the bridge-tunnel on that Tuesday morning near the 8-mile post of the bridge. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Police, however, stated that the middle-aged woman was the only passenger in the car, according to the online edition of the Richmond-Times Dispatch.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Police and Virginia Beach police are continuing their investigation of the tragic accident.

The local medical examiner's office said the woman drowned after her 2007 Toyota Avalon was seen by witnesses dropping from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel into the water at approximately 8:30 a.m.

Blunt Trauma Injury

A spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, Donna Price, said blunt force trauma also was a contributing factor in Calcagno's death.

Authorities are still puzzled as to why she drove off the bridge, according to the Richmond paper's digital edition.

The crash occurred on the southbound span between the bridge's two tunnels. As a result of the fatal crash, traffic was shut down on both sides of the span for more than two hours.

If you or a loved one has been injured from a car accident in Virginia, contact our law office right now for a consultation with our specialists. Call 1-800-690-0235 today. We can help.

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