VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA — As the trucking community mourns the death of Perdue driver Ronnie Andrews following Sunday’s tragic crash on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, many are remembering the rare story of survival from another trucker who went over the side nearly a decade ago — and lived to tell about it.

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Matt Killmon first shared his story publicly in 2023, recounting how he survived a tractor-trailer plunge off the CBBT on January 6, 2016. In light of the most recent fatal crash, his experience stands as one of the only known survivals among truck drivers who have gone over the bridge since the 1980s.

Including Sunday’s crash, 15 tractor-trailers have driven off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel over the past several decades. Only 2 drivers have survived, including Matt Killmon.

Killmon was crossing the 17.5-mile bridge in his tractor-trailer on a winter afternoon in 2016 when he says another truck moved into his lane, forcing him to swerve.

“Everything went in slow motion; you could feel the load shift, everything going sideways,” Killmon recalled when he told his story publicly. He made a split-second decision to remove his seatbelt.

Moments later, his truck went over the side and plunged into the water.

“I don’t know how I got out,” he said.

Killmon spent about 50 minutes in the frigid water, holding onto a piece of lumber from his own load. He prayed to survive long enough to see his children again.

“I was in the water about 50 minutes… I just want to live to see my kids grow up,” he said.

A person on the bridge threw him a life ring attached to a rope. Eventually, a Virginia State Police boat rescued him, and he was airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

He suffered three broken ribs, required staples in his head, and underwent skin grafts for a severely injured arm. Nearly a year of physical therapy followed.

Killmon has since left trucking, choosing instead to focus on his family and what he describes as a second chance at life.

His story is now being revisited following Sunday’s crash that claimed the life of 61-year-old Ronnie Andrews of Robersonville, North Carolina. Andrews’ Perdue tractor-trailer went over the southbound span near the North Channel Bridge, just south of Fisherman’s Island. His body and truck were recovered later that evening.

While the cause of Sunday’s crash remains under investigation, the history of over-the-side incidents on the CBBT continues to weigh heavily on the trucking community.

For drivers who regularly cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, Killmon’s survival — first shared publicly in 2023 — remains a powerful and sobering reminder of both the risks of the route and the rare miracle of making it home.

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