Virginia Beach Fishing Pier not ready to reopen
Gate, railing repairs taking longer than expected after fatal crash in January
VIRGINIA BEACH — Anglers are typically welcomed back to the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier around Easter, and the pier owners had hoped to reopen the iconic landmark Monday.
But repairs from a vehicle crash two months ago are taking longer than expected.
“We want to make sure everything is safe,” said Dee Nachnani, spokesperson for the Sibony family, which owns the pier. “We’re not rushing.”
The vehicle damaged the pier gates and some of the railing. Since then, the owners obtained a city permit for the repairs and have been working on it.
After repairs are complete, and the city is notified, the pier will be inspected, according to a city spokesperson. Neither the city nor the pier owner could offer a timeline for when that would happen.
The pier, in the heart of the resort area, typically is open April through October for fishermen, crabbers, tourists and sightseers.
But as the sun rose over the Atlantic Ocean early Jan. 27, a 57-year-old Virginia Beach man drove an SUV through the pier’s metal gates, down the 650-foot length of wooden planks and into the frigid water below. He did not survive, and police indicated he likely died by suicide.
Passersby on the Boardwalk saw the incident unfold. One captured video of the vehicle driving off the public landmark, and it was widely shared online.
With few answers about what happened and why, the community was in shock.
Yellow police tape was strewn across the pier, and sheets of wood blocked access to the fishing entrance where a wall was damaged. Over the next several days, concerned observers created a makeshift memorial of flowers and stuffed animals along the Boardwalk rail.
Due to weather and water conditions, it took nearly a week for Crofton Industries of Portsmouth to retrieve the submerged vehicle and the driver. Using a crane on a barge, the company hoisted the upside-down car out of the water as onlookers watched from the Boardwalk. Police determined that the occupant was the same person previously reported missing by family members.
The pier owners are trying to reopen the pier as soon as possible so that it can once again be a place where positive memories are created, said Nachnani.
“Our entire community is healing from it,” he said. “We want to heal together and move forward.”
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts about suicide, please contact the national suicide and crisis lifeline by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.