A vehicle drove off a Virginia Beach fishing pier and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday – with the stunning moment caught on camera – as officials have yet to recover the car more than 24 hours later.
Footage captured by a passerby early Saturday morning showed the vehicle beeline from the start of the pier until it nosedived off the edge and dropped hundreds of feet into a watery grave. The car’s brake lights blinked sporadically leading up to the shocking descent.
“Is he gonna drive off the edge,” a shocked girl said as the video was shot.
“No f—king way,” the girl said right as the car hit the ocean. “Dude, no.”
Authorities said Sunday evening they don’t know who or how many occupants were inside the car when it went into the water. The effort to reach the car, which police said is on the ocean floor, has been suspended for now because of treacherous ocean conditions.
Virginia Beach police said in a news release around 1 p.m. that a salvage barge and professional salvage divers from a private company attempted to retrieve the car, but “adverse” conditions in the water scrapped that plan.
When police received a call close to 7 a.m. on Saturday about the car hitting the water, dangerous conditions also prevented divers from jumping in, police said. But sonar was able to later locate where the car was located.
“At this time, the exact number or identity of occupants remains unknown,” Virginia Beach police said. “The goal of this mission is to safely retrieve the vehicle, reunite all occupants with their loved ones, and maintain the integrity of all evidence.”
The girl who recorded the wild footage, 16-year-old Kaylynn Crawford, told the Virginia Pilot she and a friend were running on the boardwalk when they heard a crash as they took a break.
“Once they sped up, I was like ‘Oh no, he’s going to drive off the pier,” she reportedly said.
The car rammed through an access gate blocking the entrance to the pier during the off-season, the newspaper reported, citing officials and locals.
One worker whose store is near the pier couldn’t believe it.
“My first reaction was I was feeling very surprised and then very sad,” Manan Scholl told WTKR.
It’s unclear when the recovery process will resume.
“We would also like to express our profound condolences to the family of the deceased,” police said. “VBPD is working diligently to bring closure to their loved ones through our investigative and recovery process.”