WASHINGTON — Divers have found a body inside of a tractor trailer after it reportedly drove off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on Friday evening.
Divers from Crofton Diving in Portsmouth entered the water around 6:30 a.m. Saturday and notified the Coast Guard of the body at 7:57 a.m., according to Norfolk, Virginia, TV station WTKR.
Divers can only confirm one body, despite reports of two people inside the tractor-trailer, according to the station.
Area police and Coast Guard crews were searching the Bay after the accident, which occurred around 6:30 p.m. on the western side of the southbound span, between the North Channel Bridge and the northernmost island, according to WTKR.
Police Boats in water looking for a possible car that went over the CBBT @WAVY_News pic.twitter.com/Y1Pk41cpqh
— Deanna Bettineschi (@DeannaWAVY) July 28, 2018
A van was also reportedly involved in the accident. Its passengers were apparently not seriously hurt.
The crash caused heavy damage to the guardrail and curb. One southbound lane was open while emergency repairs were underway, causing substantial delays for drivers. More severe weather was reportedly hindering the search.
A dispatcher for the Bridge-Tunnel Police Department told The Virginian Pilot that a heavy storm cell had been moving across the area at the time of the accident.
WTOP’s Valerie Bonk contributed to this report.
