CAPE CHARLES, VIRGINIA — The widow of the Perdue tractor-trailer driver who died after plunging off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel says her husband was familiar with the span and had crossed it many times before.

CBBT Police confirmed that 61-year-old Ronnie Andrews of Robersonville, North Carolina, was killed when his Perdue tractor-trailer crashed through the southbound right guardrail around 6:40 a.m. on February 15. The truck went over the west side of the bridge on the upslope near the North Channel Bridge, just south of Fisherman Island, and plunged into the water below.

In a Tuesday update, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Deputy Executive Director Thomas Anderson said another Perdue driver was traveling ahead of Andrews at the time, but has not played a role in the investigation.

“The other driver was a minute or two ahead of Mr. Andrews so did not appear to witness the event,” Anderson said.

Andrews’ body was recovered Sunday evening. Lane restrictions remained in place Monday afternoon as crews worked to repair damage to the guardrail and curb caused by the crash.

Lovie Andrews, who was married to Ronnie for more than 30 years, said her husband had been a truck driver since before they were married. For the past five years, he drove for Perdue, which operates a processing plant in Accomac, Virginia, about 50 miles north of the crash site.

She said her husband was hauling a load of chicken to the Charlotte area and was expected to return home Monday. The couple had spoken by phone the night before the crash, and she said he was in good spirits and did not mention fatigue or any concerns.

Andrews described her husband as an outgoing family man who loved people and would “do anything for anybody.”

“He always went out of his way for other people; if they needed help, he would help them,” Lovie Andrews said. “I am just going to miss him so much, we are all going to miss him so much.”

She works weekdays as a teaching assistant in their hometown near Greenville, North Carolina, and said it was often difficult when her husband was away for work over entire weekends.

The February 15 crash marks the most recent fatal tractor-trailer incident on the CBBT. The last time a truck driver was killed after crashing through the bridge’s guardrail was in December 2020, when Erik Mezick, a box truck driver for a Maryland-based dairy, went over the side. His body was not recovered until the following April, nearly 100 miles away on the Outer Banks.

The cause of Andrews’ crash remains under investigation.