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Man in custody of Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office dies at hospital after DUI crash

Posted at 5:38 PM, Aug 16, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-17 06:27:57-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – A man in the custody of the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office died at a hospital Thursday morning after a DUI crash that led to his arrest.

After a crash Wednesday morning, a 66-year-old Virginia Beach man was cleared by a local hospital and brought to the Virginia Beach Correctional Center by a Virginia Beach Police officer. The man was charged with one misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated (his second offence within 5-10 years), denied bond and taken into the custody of the sheriff’s office shortly after 5 p.m.

Around 11:15 p.m. Wednesday, jail staff saw the man was in need of additional medical care, and an ambulance took him to a hospital. Despite efforts to save him, the man was pronounced dead by a doctor at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital around 4:30 a.m. Thursday.

The man’s cause of death was ruled as blunt force trauma to the chest as a result of injuries he sustained in the crash, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Norfolk.

The incident remains under investigation by the Virginia Beach Police Department, as is required with all fatal crashes and in-custody deaths. The Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office Professional Standards Office is also investigating.

The sheriff’s office has reported the man’s death to the Virginia Department of Corrections. No foul play is suspected.

The Virginia Beach Police Department released the following statement about the incident:

Shortly before noon on Wednesday, Aug. 15, Virginia Beach police responded to a two-vehicle crash in the 2500 block of Pacific Ave. As a result of their investigation, officers arrested a 66-year-old Virginia Beach man on one misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated (second offense within 5-10 years). He was transported to a local hospital and then admitted to the Virginia Beach Correctional Center. He subsequently passed away while in the custody of the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office. His identity is being withheld pending next of kin notification. The occupants of the second vehicle involved in the crash – one adult and one child – also suffered serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.

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