The accident took place near Virginia Beach on Tuesday morning.
Coast Guard and local officials called off a day-long search for a man in the water near Virginia Beach on Tuesday evening after a tractor-trailer accident.
Authorities received a call from 911 around 8:30 a.m. with reports that the tractor-trailer had crashed through the south side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and was entering the water, the coast guard said.
Witnesses reported seeing a man exit the vehicle and drift west, the Coast Guard said.
A distribution manager at Cloverland Green Spring Dairy, based in Baltimore, confirmed to Richmond ABC-affiliated WRIC on Tuesday evening that one of their milk trucks was involved in the accident. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel authority identified the missing man as Erik Mezick, 47, from Fruitland, Maryland.
“The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the CBBT are with Mr. Mezick’s family and loved ones during this difficult time,” Jeff Holland, executive director of the CBBT, told WRIC.
In addition to two Coast Guard boats and a Coast Guard helicopter, the local police and fire department and the Virginia Marine Resource Commission combed the waters to find the missing man.
Crews searched 178 square miles before the search was called off in the evening.
The Coast Guard urged anyone who has information or saw the man in the water to call the Sector Virginia Command Center at (757) 483-8567.