VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia State Police (VSP) said a driver died in a crash Friday night after a car hit a nightclub at the Oceanfront.
The incident began on Interstate 264 at First Colonial Road shortly before 11 p.m. when a Virginia state trooper saw a Toyota sedan driving at a fast speed in the eastbound lanes. The vehicle was allegedly driving over 100 mph. This is when the trooper tried to stop the vehicle.
When the car approached the Oceanfront, passing Parks Avenue, the trooper turned off his emergency equipment, but the car continued east towards Pacific Avenue.
As the driver approached stopped traffic at the intersection of Pacific Avenue and 21st Street, the driver sideswiped several vehicles and then crashed into Peabody's Nightclub, located on the corner of the intersection.
The car caught fire and the driver died upon impact.
He's been identified as Andy Lee Curry, 28, of Virginia Beach.
Three Virginia Beach police officers suffered smoke inhalation after trying to rescue the driver. Two people were struck by flying debris, one of which was taken to a hospital and the other refused treatment.
Virginia Rose was inside Bunker Brewpub when the crash happened. Bunker is right next door. She said the pub filled with smoke and management told everyone to evacuate in the middle of a concert.
“The employees at the Bunker Brewpub came on stage and said, ‘Listen, you all have to evacuate.’ Smoke starting coming in," Rose said. "‘You have to evacuate immediately. Make your way to the right. A car just drove into the front of the brewery.’”
Rose said there was a lot of confusion about what exactly happened.
“Some other people in the times that we live in thought maybe it was a shooting at first, but they immediately told us it was a car," Rose said.
“Everyone hightailed it out. They very quickly – like I said, smoke starting coming in. We didn’t know what had happened.”
Early morning light Saturday, Perry Viscusi was power-washing Peabody’s Night Club to clean up the damage left behind by the deadly car crash. He's a friend of the building’s owner and said the fiery crash comes as a shock.
“Yeah, everybody is. Absolutely. It’s the worst thing,” Viscusi said.
He added that the building was not badly damaged.
"There’s no damage that I can see that’s going to keep people from opening up," he said.