NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Norfolk police are working to figure out the cause of a crash that claimed three lives Friday night.
The call came in around 10:15 p.m. for the incident on East Princess Anne Road in Norfolk near Military Highway and Northampton Boulevard.
Two men and a woman died, leaving another woman hospitalized with serious injuries, police said.
The victims were identified as 49-year-old Denis F. Snead, 40-year-old Joshua Delp, and 36-year-old Christiane Rivera, all from Norfolk.
A 48-year-old woman was transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with life-threatening injuries. She is expected to recover, police said.
“Shortly before 10:15 p.m., we heard a gigantic boom,” said Tim, a neighbor who did not want to reveal his full identity.
Tim, who lives on East Princess Anne Road, says it’s something he’ll never forget. After the big boom, he stepped outside to see what he described as devastating.
“It was absolutely terrible and traumatizing to see,” he said.
Norfolk police say after they received the call to the 5300 block of East Princess Anne Road, they found a BMW that had run off the road and hit a tree.
“They slammed into the tree in which the car split in half and two people were ejected,” Tim recalled.
Investigators say Snead was driving and Delp and Rivera were both passengers. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to neighbors, the crash created a very loud noise and most of the wreckage landed in Tim’s front yard leaving debris and parts still in his grass on Saturday.
“This is as close to home as it possibly could have gotten for me,” said Tim.
He says it haunts him because of how easily this could have been different for his family.
“We commonly are out here around that time and thankfully, we broke routine and we weren’t out here. Me and my family could have been a part of that list of those who didn’t make it, and it’s very unfortunate that they passed away. I wish all the blessings to their family,” he explained.
The cause is still under investigation and detectives are working to determine what led up to the crash. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Norfolk Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or submit a tip through the P3Tips mobile app.