Man Dies After Bay Bridge Crash, Fall

SANDY POINT, Md. (WJZ) -- Investigators are trying to figure out how a truck collided with a car, tossing the driver into the Chesapeake Bay.

Kelly McPherson spoke to one woman who saw it happen.

Harry Blauvelt, 70, fell to his death when he got out of his broken-down car on the Bay Bridge Monday morning.  As he stood by his Honda Accord, a large truck hit it, pushing the man over the side, 52.5 feet below into the Chesapeake Bay.

Lani Schumacher was driving the car behind that truck.

"He probably clipped the rear left end of the car because the car completely spun.  I saw the car spin around and the next thing I know, the car is facing me and i don't know if it was steam or smoke that was coming out of the car, so I immediately stopped. I was afraid to proceed because I didn't know if the car was going to catch on fire," Schumacher said.

She said there was no traffic leading up to where the car was disabled, so she believes it was only there for a little bit of time.  The Maryland Transportation Authority says it all happened quickly, in a matter of minutes.

"And when they said that somebody was in the water, I never thought that they'd be pushed.  My thought was just that he jumped," Schumacher said.

A Marine unit found the man. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

"In this case, it appears that the individual went over the side of the bridge when the accident occurred," said Anne Arundel County Fire Department Chief Michael Cox.

"It took him a few seconds to get out.  He immediately ran to the car and the next thing I know, he looked over both sides of the bridge," Schumacher said.

A 54-year-old woman who witnessed the man being hit was taken to Queen Anne's Medical Center after suffering a medical emergency. She was later released.

As if this death and accident weren't strange enough, within six hours of the driver falling over the side, two other people were found in the water.  Neither of them is expected to survive.

If you saw the crash, please call Maryland Transportation Authority Police at 443-324-8894.