VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The recovery of the car that went off the 14th Street Pier in Virginia Beach on Saturday morning has been delayed another day.
Virginia Beach police said in an update Thursday afternoon that the dive team with Crofton Industries said “conditions are not suitable today for recovery operations.”
“They are monitoring the weather and there are indicators they may be able to attempt to retrieve the vehicle [Friday].”
It’s now been nearly a week since the car went off the end of the pier, and we still don’t know who the driver of the vehicle was, or why it all happened.
Heavy currents and wind have been the biggest reasons why divers aren’t able to access the car, which is about 17 feet below the water’s surface, Virginia Beach officials say. Divers have been seeing at least three knots or more in recent days, and say they can’t dive if there’s more than one knot of current.
“My guys will be having to work, you know, basically laying on the bottom and they’ll have to work like this and then have to try to overcome any currents,” said Sgt. Brian Ricardo of the Virginia Beach Police dive team. “And just understand the normal current at the Oceanfront that we have that runs either north or south, generally, on a good day, that current’s going to be, you know, maybe half a knot.”
There is a small craft advisory Feb. 1 until 7 p.m., according to NOAA.
Super Doppler 10 Meteorologist Ricky Matthews said Friday morning may be the best chance, with more wind expected over the weekend.
Meanwhile Virginia Beach police say the pier crash has “similarities to facts and circumstances” to a missing person case, but they’ve not been able to confirm if the two are connected. If someone is found in the vehicle when it’s recovered, the Medical Examiner’s Office will work to confirm the person’s identity.
Check back for the latest on this developing news.