NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — As strong storms swept through the area Wednesday, a woman stuck in traffic on the Willoughby Bay Bridge saw something that caught her eye in the water underneath — a man in the water holding onto a pillar and yelling for help.
“I was on the phone with my husband, and I just happened to look over to my left at the water and see a guy in the water holding on to one of the concrete pillars,” Tina Russell said.
It was a frightening sight for Russell, who was driving home from Old Dominion University and was stuck in northbound traffic on the bridge around 4 p.m.
She began taking video, documenting the man’s harrowing experience in the water and some dicey moments as he held on while rescue efforts were underway.
Video shows rescue after man falls into water below Norfolk bridge
“The other guys were throwing down a rope with a life preserver for him,” Russell said.
However, she said he didn’t grab the life preserver.
“Because the waves were so bad, I think he was afraid if he let go of that pillar, he would have been taken away,” she said.
The video she took showed the waves crashing into the pile and hitting the man in the face.
“That, of course, would be the most difficult part of that situation,” said Super Doppler 10 Meteorologist Steve Fundaro, “how do you handle it with the amount of water moving around and the currents?”
Wind gusts on the water at the time were between 30 mph and 35 mph.
“[With] water temperatures in the low to mid 50s, hypothermia kicks in anywhere between one to six hours,” Fundaro said. “So, cold water [is] not the biggest concern there. It would be the currents moving around.”
Russell said that, eventually, workers lowered a life vest, which the worker put on. One boat attempting a rescue was dashed against the piles because of the ferocious waves. Finally, another boat came along to help, and the video showed the man being pulled onboard to safety.
The man, an employee of The Hampton Roads Connector Partners, was working to secure construction material on the bridge when he slipped and fell into the water, 10 On Your Side learned. He was taken to Sentara Norfolk General and is expected to be OK.
Meanwhile, HRCT is investigating.
“It was really scary,” Russell said, “because I was close enough to him to hear him screaming for help, but there was literally nothing I could do to help him.”
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