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Woman dies in head-on crash with Norfolk police cruiser

Posted at 6:31 AM, Apr 19, 2013
and last updated 2013-04-19 16:55:07-04

Norfolk, Va. - Police have identified a woman killed in a Norfolk crash early Friday morning.

It happened around 4 a.m. Friday, April 19, on Tidewater Drive.

Police say 21-year-old Karoline D. Johnson of the 9300 hundred block of Inlet Road in Norfolk was the passenger in a Honda Civic that crossed the center line of Tidewater Drive not far from Norview Avenue, hitting an oncoming Norfolk Police cruiser head-on.

Johnson died at the scene. Friday was her 21st birthday.

The driver of the Honda now remains in critical condition at Norfolk General Hospital.

The officer was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but is expected to be OK.

People who live along Tidewater Drive were woken up by the sound of the deadly crash around 4:30 a.m.

"It was, it was just, you can't even imagine what it sounded like. It was horrible. I know I jumped out of bed and I remember saying, oh my God, oh my God, I hope they're not dead," says neighbor Gladys Huffman.

Norfolk Police are now trying to figure out exactly what led up to the crash.

"We've got a pretty good picture of what happened. Now it's just trying to put all of the pieces together," says Chris Amos of Norfolk Police.

Charges have not yet been filed.

Tidewater Drive was reopened to traffic in both directions at around 9 a.m., according to Chris Amos of Norfolk Police.