Man who jumped off Portsmouth bridge found walking down city street

PORTSMOUTH

A man who jumped off the West Norfolk Bridge after a crash was later found, soaking wet, walking down a city street.

The man was found shortly before 6 a.m. on Mount Vernon Avenue, said Ann Hope, police spokeswoman. The man was not identified and Hope said that no charges have been filed against him. 

Police do not yet know why the man jumped off the bridge.

The police and fire departments both launched boats and a Coast Guard crew was helping search for the man in the Elizabeth River at Port Norfolk after witnesses saw him jump off the bridge, Hope said. 

The crash occurred on the eastbound side of the bridge, which carries traffic on Va. 164, shortly after 2 a.m., Hope said. 

A witness told officers who arrived at the bridge that the man was seen in the water, Hope said.

"It's rather bizarre," Hope said this morning.

The water near the span is so shallow in many spots that rescue divers were wading about rather than swimming as they searched.

The person in the other car was taken to a hospital with a leg injury, Hope said.

The bridge was closed while police investigated the crash and the cars were towed away. It was reopened shortly before 5 a.m.

The two men were the only people in the vehicles that crashed, Hope said. The incident remains under investigation.