VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA — Following Sunday’s fatal crash involving a Perdue tractor-trailer, records show that at least 15 tractor-trailers have gone over the side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel since the 1980s.

A 2023 public records investigation found that 14 truck drivers had fallen off the CBBT prior to this year. Adding Sunday’s crash brings the total to 15.

In the past, only two drivers have survived the plunge into the water: an unidentified driver in 1984 and Matt Killmon in 2016.

Crash reports obtained through public records show that most of the previous incidents were unrelated in cause and described as one-off events. Among the documented causes:

• One driver reportedly fell asleep behind the wheel.

• One driver suffered a heart attack.

• One truck may have been struck by lightning.

• A blown tire caused another crash.

What the reports do not consistently detail is whether heavy winds were a factor at the time of each crash.

However, wind has played a role in at least one major legal case. On February 2, 2017, truck driver Joseph Chen died after his tractor-trailer went over the side of the bridge. His family sued the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Commission, arguing that Chen should not have been allowed to travel across the bridge under windy conditions.

A court later determined that wind was a “proximate cause of the accident,” but ruled that CBBT personnel properly implemented their wind restrictions at the time. The judge ultimately found that the CBBT has “sovereign immunity,” making it immune from liability in the lawsuit.

The only common thread among the 14 earlier crashes, according to officials, is that the trucks were no match for the guardrail system. The CBBT railing is designed to stop cars and pickup trucks weighing up to 5,000 pounds at highway speeds and modest angles of approach, but not head-on impacts from tractor-trailers weighing up to 80,000 pounds.

Officials have acknowledged that stronger guardrail systems exist that could stop fully loaded tractor-trailers. However, CBBT leadership has stated that the bridge’s existing girders cannot support the additional estimated 90,000 pounds of weight that would come with such an upgrade.

From 1994 through 2022, the CBBT recorded 800 reportable accidents. Of those, 300 involved damage to the bridge’s guardrail system. Only nine incidents during that time resulted in vehicles going overboard — an incident rate officials describe as less than 0.000009% per vehicle crossing. During that same period, annual accident averages declined from approximately 35 per year to fewer than 20, despite a 58% increase in traffic volume.

In 2022, the CBBT strengthened its wind restrictions for empty tractor-trailers after studies showed that lane changes or swerving combined with high winds significantly increase blowover risk.

Under current policy:

• Tractor-trailers are banned when average wind speeds exceed 50 miles per hour.

• The entire bridge closes to all traffic when winds reach 60 miles per hour.

With Sunday’s fatal crash now bringing the total to at least 15 tractor-trailers going over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel since the 1980s, renewed attention is once again focused on guardrail limitations, wind policies, and the unique risks commercial drivers face on the 17.5-mile crossing.

📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.