Recovery efforts underway after vehicle drives off Virginia fishing pier

Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on January 27, 2024

(VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.) — Recovery efforts are underway after a vehicle drove off a Virginia fishing pier and became fully submerged in ocean waters early Saturday morning, police said.

A 911 caller reported the incident around 6:52 a.m. ET at the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier, police said.

Officers arrived on the scene within minutes, where witnesses told them a car crashed through the gates of the wooden pier before it went into the water, a Virginia Beach Police Department spokesperson told ABC News.

A video posted to Facebook of the incident, first reported by The Virginia Pilot, shows a car driving along the pier and braking slightly before plunging off the edge into the water.

The car was completely submerged by the time the officers arrived and could not be seen from the pier, the police spokesperson said.

The number of occupants in the vehicle is unclear. Officers presume anyone in the submerged vehicle to be dead, the spokesperson said.

The motive of the driver is also unknown, the spokesperson said.

A marine patrol unit with sonar equipment was called in to assist and the vehicle was located in the water. Police are working with Virginia Beach Fire and other local authorities on a plan to recover the vehicle and any occupants.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

The pier, which is located along a three-mile boardwalk in the southeastern Virginia city, is currently closed for the season.