VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A week has passed since a man drove a car off of the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier — and many people still gather at the community-made memorial along the boardwalk.
One of those people is Virginia Beach resident Abbie Gregg.
“I’ve personally felt lonely and depressed in my life, and I just felt the need to leave something and memorialize the person that did this,” Gregg said.
Resident Trenton Walton said the pier has always held special memories for him.
“I’ve been coming here since I was a junior in high school, and we used to jump off the end of the pier to surf,” Trenton said. “And I mean, it’s an awesome place. It’s a shame that what happened here is heartbreaking.”
Pam Walton said now things will always feel slightly different walking along that part of the beach.
“Like I think forever in our hearts, we will have a different feeling for the pier now because this happened, and we just pray for the families,” Pam said. “We really do, our hearts go out to everyone.”
But at the end of the day, multiple residents agreed that this has sparked a conversation that needs to be had about mental health.
“I want people that are going through this to know that they’re not alone,” Gregg said. “They have someone to talk to. I’ve had suicidal ideation before, it’s hard to go through but I have people to lean on and I want people to know if they need anyone to talk to, just go talk to anyone.”
If you’re struggling and need someone to talk to, help is available. Call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
