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A toddler died and a man is in critical condition after a morning wreck on the Virginia Dare Bridge, reported State Highway Patrol Sgt. D.C. Pridgen.

The dispatch call came at 8:02 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.

A 1991 Mustang, owned by a man from Manns Harbor, was disabled and stopped on the far eastbound side of the bridge. A 2023 GMC Arcadia rear-ended the Mustang. The car was engulfed in flames.

The GMC driver from Columbia exited her vehicle and pulled the driver out of the burning Mustang. He said his son was in the burning vehicle. Both drivers tried but were unsuccessful in rescuing the two-year-old.

In the westbound lane of the bridge, a Dare County Sheriff’s Office deputy responding to the scene stopped his patrol vehicle and put on his flashing lights. He hurdled the median to help. A pick-up truck rear ended his patrol vehicle. The deputy was not injured.

The Manns Harbor man, in critical condition, was flown to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with severe burns on his head, face and throat, reported Sgt. Pridgen.

Sgt. Pridgen reported that the GMC driver was charged with failure to reduce speed and misdemeanor death.

Authorities are not releasing names at this time.

The Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge is a four-lane bridge spanning the Croatan Sound between Manns Harbor and Roanoke Island. The bridge, the longest in North Carolina, is 5.2 miles long.

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