Waldy Diez – The Virginian-Pilot https://www.pilotonline.com The Virginian-Pilot: Your source for Virginia breaking news, sports, business, entertainment, weather and traffic Tue, 25 Jun 2024 19:58:38 +0000 en-US hourly 30 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 https://www.pilotonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/POfavicon.png?w=32 Waldy Diez – The Virginian-Pilot https://www.pilotonline.com 32 32 219665222 Dali arrives: Ship that crashed into Baltimore bridge is in Hampton Roads https://www.pilotonline.com/2024/06/25/dali-arrives-ship-that-crashed-into-baltimore-bridge-is-in-hampton-roads/ Tue, 25 Jun 2024 12:07:11 +0000 https://www.pilotonline.com/?p=7228873 The container ship that crashed in March into a Baltimore bridge, killing six construction workers, arrived Tuesday in Hampton Roads.

The 984-foot Dali crossed the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and entered Norfolk waters around 5 a.m. The ship was escorted by the U.S. Coast Guard as it entered the Elizabeth River — the Coast Guard Cutter Sailfish, an 87-foot patrol boat, provided a 500-yard safety zone around the Dali, according to a Coast Guard news release. Coast Guard watchstanders also monitored the ship’s progress.

The ship is currently at Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth, where crews are unloading containers to reduce draft, according to the Coast Guard. It will then head to Norfolk International Terminals in Norfolk for more repairs and salvage.

A third-party contractor will perform those repairs at Norfolk International Terminals, said Joe Harris, Virginia Port Authority spokesperson. He did not know the extent of repairs that would be performed there, however.

The ship’s manager, Synergy Marine, did not respond for a request for comment.

But Darrell Wilson, a spokesman for the ship’s owner — Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd. — told the Baltimore Sun this week that after the ship is patched up in Norfolk, it will head to another shipyard for more extensive repairs. That shipyard is yet to be determined, the Sun reported.

The Coast Guard’s 5th District Public Affairs Office in Portsmouth declined to answer questions beyond a news release on Tuesday and did not return an email asking where such repair work might be performed.

The Coast Guard said the cargo ship is sailing under a 22-person crew and six salvage experts from Resolve Marine.

The Dali departed from Baltimore just before 8:30 a.m. Monday.

The Dali had been in Baltimore since it lost power in the early hours of March 26, colliding with the Francis Scott Key Bridge and collapsing the structure into the Patapsco River. Debris from the disaster blocked Baltimore’s shipping channel for more than two months.

Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com

Photographed from Fort Monroe in Hampton, the Dali, the container ship that hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore causing a deadly collapse, crosses the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel and enters Norfolk around 5 A.M. on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. The Dali will unload containers at Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth before being "parked" at Norfolk International Terminals and going to a shipyard for repairs. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)
Photographed from Fort Monroe in Hampton, the Dali crosses the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and enters Norfolk around 5 a.m. on Tuesday. The Dali was to unload containers at Virginia International Gateway. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)
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Neighbors describe tense moments as Newport News police killed man who pointed gun at them https://www.pilotonline.com/2024/01/05/newport-news-police-kill-man-they-say-pointed-gun-at-them/ Sat, 06 Jan 2024 03:09:36 +0000 https://www.pilotonline.com/?p=6247523 Newport News police said an officer shot and killed a man who pointed a gun at them Friday afternoon while they attempted to perform a welfare check.

As of Saturday evening, police have not provided the name of the man killed.

According to a police department statement posted roughly seven hours after the shooting, the officers attempted to perform a welfare check on the man about 12:20 p.m. in the first block of Davis Park Drive, near the Davis Mobile Home and RV Park community just south of the intersection of Mercury Boulevard and Warwick Boulevard. This was in connection to a tactical operation performed Thursday at 1:43 a.m. that dealt with an armed, suicidal person, according to a news release from police.

The NNPD Tactical Operations Unit performed the welfare check Friday and were to serve an arrest warrant issued for the man in Chesapeake.

Officers made numerous attempts to contact the residents of the trailer by phone and PA system but did not receive a response, the release said.

The front door began to open, and was left open, but nobody exited the trailer, police said. Officers again attempted to get the residents to leave the trailer when they said they heard a woman screaming in what they believed to be distress.

Officers entered the trailer at about 2 p.m. and witnessed a “violent struggle” between a woman and a man who was holding a gun. As soon as officers entered, the man pointed the gun at the officers, the release said. One officer shot at the man, striking him. The man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 2:30 p.m.

Officers removed the woman, who was unharmed.

The investigation is ongoing. The officers involved in the incident were placed on administrative leave.

One of the neighbors of the man killed, Norman Coles, was in his home when the shooting occurred. Coles said what initially caught his attention was the sound of police using a bullhorn to say “come out.” He recalled police saying that they had a warrant and that they knew the man was in the trailer.  Coles said he didn’t watch the events unfold, but he said that 20-30 minutes after first hearing the bullhorn he heard shooting and a woman scream.

Coles didn’t know the name of his neighbor, saying that people in the trailer park tend to keep to themselves. He said he stayed in his trailer, as police were advising people to stay inside.

Another neighbor on Davis Park Drive, who requested to remain anonymous, said she never met the man who had been killed.

“I’ve seen him drive his truck around here but never spoke to him,” she said. “Now my husband, he’s spoken to him a couple of times.”

She recalled when the police came early Thursday morning, “in the middle of the night,” she was woken up by the sound of a bullhorn announcement from police telling the man to “come out with your hands up.” She remembered police being present several hours that morning. Police said the Thursday tactical operation ended at 5:50 a.m. 

On Friday afternoon, while her husband was at work, the neighbor said she went outside of her trailer to smoke and said she saw roughly 10 police cars fill up Davis Park Drive, blocking the entrance.

“They said his name, ‘come out with your hands up,” she recalled. “If you come out peacefully, I can guarantee your safety out of One Davis Park Drive. If you don’t come out quietly, I cannot guarantee your safety or anybody else’s safety.’ That’s almost verbatim.”

The neighbor recalled how scared she was watching the situation unfold from her window. She watched police enter the trailer and said she heard three rounds of gunfire.

“You know if there’s any stray bullets, these things, they’ll come right through you,” she said. “But I found a place to hide.”

The Daily Press asked police about the name of the man who was killed and the woman involved in the incident and the nature of the arrest warrant. Police did not provide additional information on Saturday.

Newport News Police Department Public Information Officer Matt Michalec said Saturday he doubts there will be a news conference this weekend but “likely next week.”

He did not answer whether there was body camera footage, but said, “NNPD does not release body cam footage for ongoing investigations.”

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com

Waldy Diez, waldy.diez@virginiamedia.com

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Person suffers serious injuries in hit-and-run in James City County https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/10/30/person-suffers-serious-injuries-in-hit-and-run-in-james-city-county/ Tue, 31 Oct 2023 02:09:06 +0000 https://www.pilotonline.com/?p=5714326&preview=true&preview_id=5714326 A person suffered serious injuries Monday after being struck by a car, according to James City County police.

According to a news release from police, officers responded about 5:25 p.m. to the intersection of U.S. 60 and Greenmount Parkway, in the southern end of the county, for a hit-and-run. Eyewitnesses told police a pedestrian was hit by a turning vehicle, which drove away.

The person was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center.

A blue Nissan Altima is believed to be the car involved, according to the news release. The driver went east toward Newport News.

The investigation is ongoing. Anybody with information is encouraged to reach out to police.

Waldy Diez, waldy.diez@virginiamedia.com

 

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5714326 2023-10-30T22:09:06+00:00 2023-10-30T22:10:35+00:00
1-year-old boy injured in Chesapeake shooting, police say https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/04/27/1-year-old-boy-injured-in-chesapeake-shooting-police-say/ https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/04/27/1-year-old-boy-injured-in-chesapeake-shooting-police-say/#respond Thu, 27 Apr 2023 17:33:07 +0000 https://www.pilotonline.com?p=23487&preview_id=23487 Chesapeake police are investigating a shooting that left a 1-year-old boy injured Wednesday night.

Officers received a call just before 8:10 p.m. that a child had been shot. The shooting was reported in the area of Bainbridge Boulevard and Jefferson Street, according to a news release from police.

Officers found the mother and the boy, whose injuries were not considered life-threatening, police said. They were in a vehicle at the time of the shooting, and the bullet that struck the child pierced the side, according to police spokesperson Leo Kosinski.

The shooter was on foot, Kosinski said. Investigators do not have a description of the shooter and have not determined whether the mother and child were targeted or if the shooting was domestic in nature.

Police ask anyone with information about the shooting to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or to submit a tip online.

Gavin Stone contributed to this report.

Waldy Diez, waldy.diez@virginiamedia.com

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https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/04/27/1-year-old-boy-injured-in-chesapeake-shooting-police-say/feed/ 0 23487 2023-04-27T13:33:07+00:00 2023-04-27T17:33:07+00:00
Boy seriously injured in Portsmouth shooting, police say https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/03/27/boy-seriously-injured-in-portsmouth-shooting-police-say/ https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/03/27/boy-seriously-injured-in-portsmouth-shooting-police-say/#respond Tue, 28 Mar 2023 01:39:35 +0000 https://www.pilotonline.com?p=22156&preview_id=22156 A boy was seriously injured in a shooting in Portsmouth, police said Monday night.

According to a tweet from the department at 9:04 p.m., the shooting happened near the 3800 block of Headwind Lane, which is in a townhome community off Hofflers Creek Parkway near Twin Pines Road.

Police said they located a boy with a serious injury.

The department didn’t provide details about the circumstances of the shooting or a possible suspect.

This is a developing story. Check PilotOnline.com for updates.

Waldy Diez, waldy.diez@virginiamedia.com

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