‘It’s a sad end to the year:’ Neighbors near W. Norfolk Bridge recall crash that killed two

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Sunday morning there was a lot of commotion in Portsmouth’s Port Norfolk neighborhood after a motorcycle crashed on the West Norfolk Bridge sent two people into the Elizabeth River. “It’s a sad end to the year man,” Daryl Culpepper, who lives near where the crash happened, said. Neighbors around Port Norfolk said they are still thinking about the end of last year and the two people who died in a crash on the morning of New Year’s Eve.

“I saw a fire and rescue truck pull up, and I saw a man jump out and start running down the beach,” Culpepper said.

Daryl Culpepper owns Culpepper’s Boat Rental and said this all happened right in front of his home. Police said a motorcycle with a man and a woman riding it, hit a wall on the West Norfolk Bridge heading eastbound and caused the driver and rider to fall into the river.

“A man and a lady riding across the bridge saw the wreck happen, and I guess they got there before the man and the fire and rescue truck did, because the lady had already been out in the water,” Culpepper said. He said he wanted to try and help find those people too and offered his boat to those going in the river.

“The fire and rescue guys, they had already put on suits and walked out into the water, and we saw the helmet out there in the water, and we didn’t know if there was someone under the helmet or not,” Culpepper said. “So one of the policemen and I jumped in our boat and went out there and got the helmet.”

Because of how shallow the water was at low tide, Culpepper said soon after, first responders were able to find the man and woman who were pronounced dead at the scene. While the crash is still under investigation by the Portsmouth Police Traffic Unit, Culpepper said a pedestrian exit on the bridge often confuses people into thinking it’s an exit. “Right there where they crashed, it’s a bad spot, it happens a lot,” Culpepper said. “There have been several wrecks right there, several deaths.

When people come across that bridge they think that’s an exit right there, and when they go to turn, it’s too late to make up for it.”