PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Two people died following a motorcycle crash Sunday morning.
Officers responded to the crash on the West Norfolk Bridge at 8 a.m.
According to State Police, two riders were traveling eastbound on a motorcycle when they struck the jersey wall. The driver and passenger both were ejected from the motorcycle into the water. Medics pronounced them both dead at the scene.
On Thursday, Portsmouth Police identified the victims as 27-year-old Henry C. Holmes, Jr. of Suffolk and his passenger, 35-year-old Anjuli S. Fine of Virginia Beach.
“It’s horrible, man. Sad way to end a year,” said Daryl Culpepper. His family has had a boat rental business in nearby Port Norfolk for decades.
His view from Bayview Boulevard shows how there is a ramp that comes down from the bridge near the site of the crash, but it’s not for cars. It’s for bicyclists and pedestrians. We found out they can use this section of the bridge, despite the whizzing traffic and sharp curves.
“It looks like an off-ramp. If somebody is told to take the first exit when they come over the bridge, they see that it looks like an exit,” Culpepper said. “And when they start to make that turn, it’s too late. You can’t make up for it. You can’t get back over.”
10 On Your Side also found evidence on the road surface of tire tracks heading into the jersey wall and scrapes on the wall itself where drivers have had trouble in this spot. Culpepper says several bad accidents have happened here.
“A year before last, a Mack truck hit it and probably a thousand cans of sardines came over the bridge and he died. And there have been several deaths right there that I know of in that same spot.”
Portsmouth Fire and Rescue were dispatched to assist in the water rescue. Culpepper got in his boat, helping search and rescue crews, and says the victims were only about 30 feet from shore at low tide. The man and woman were pronounced dead at the scene by medics.
“We retrieved the helmet. We thought that maybe somebody might be under the helmet. We saw a helmet floating out there. So we went and got the helmet, but the people landed in water. It wasn’t much more than knee deep.”
For now a solution seems elusive.
“Something keeps happening over and over, you got to change it. I don’t know what to do to fix it. Maybe take (the pedestrian and bicyclist ramp) out of there so people can’t walk across the bridge anymore,” Culpepper said.
The crash is under investigation by Portsmouth Police Traffic Unit.
AAA Tidewater’s Holly Dalby reminds motorcyclists and drivers in general that extra care is needed when you’re near a motorcycle or driving one yourself.
“When you’re following another car, you should be back 3 to 4 seconds behind that other vehicle so you don’t get too close. When you’re behind a motorcycle, 4 to 5 seconds, to give them more space,” Dalby said.
And for motorcyclists, Dalby advises, “so often, even the best intentioned driver could miss seeing you. You could be in a blind spot. Try to avoid those blind spots. Don’t be on that rear quarter panel of another car so that you’re in that blind spot.”