PORTSMOUTH, VA – APRIL 5: U.S. Coast Guard HH-60J Jayhawk helicopter passes over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel while on patrol April 5, 2003 in Portsmouth, Virginia. Patrols like this one can last nearly six hours and cover over 300 miles. The helicopter and its crew, fly a loosely planned patrol circuit as precaution against being predictable. The waters and bridge tunnels of Chesapeake Bay are of strategic importance because of the amount of shipping traffic that enters the bay for cargo terminals in the area. (Photo by Liza Mizelle/Getty Images)
The widow of a North Carolina truck driver who died when his rig plunged off Virginia's Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in 2017 is suing for $6 million.
The Virginian-Pilot reports the lawsuit filed by Billie Jo Chen against the CBBT says the bridge-tunnel's own wind and gauge policy should have prohibited Joseph Chen from crossing the bridge.
NBC4 previously reported that the 47-year-old driver was seen standing on the floating truck but was unresponsive when rescued by a Navy helicopter. Authorities said he died from drowning and hypothermia.
Attorneys with Pender & Coward, the Virginia Beach firm representing the CBBT, did not respond to interview requests from The Virginian-Pilot.
Filings in Northampton County Circuit Court show the CBBT is claiming sovereign immunity, which typically protects governmental entities from negligence lawsuits.
