2012 was a busy year in Hampton Roads and North Carolina. Here are the top 10 stories of the year on wtkr.com:
1. By far the biggest story on wtkr.com this year was Hurricane Sandy. The storm pounded North Carolina and Virginiabefore working its way up the East Coast. Parts of NC 12 in the Outer Banks were still being repaired in late December.
2. F/A-18 from Oceana crashes into apartment building
Amazingly, no one died when an F/A-18 from Oceana crashed into the Mayfair Mews apartments in Virginia Beach in April.
3. AutoZone employee fired after taking action against ‘Fake Beard Bandit’
Devin Mclean was fired from his job for using his own gun to scare off the ‘Fake Beard Bandit’
4. Coast Guard recovers body of missing HMS Bounty sailor
Hurricane Sandy makes another appearance on this list. The Coast Guard rescued 14 people from life rafts and recovered the body of crew member Claudene Christian after the tall ship HMS Bounty sank during the storm. The ship’s captain was lost at sea.
5. New surveillance video shows F-18 crashing into apartments
The Oceana F/A-18 crash returned to the news in November when this surveillance video was released. It shows the jet flying through a parking lot before crashing into the building and the initial reactions of bystanders as the flames spread.
6. No sailors injured after USS Porter collides with oil tanker
The Norfolk-based USS Porter and the Panamanian-flagged bulk oil tanker M/V Otowasan collided in the Strait of Hormuz in August.
7. Culture changes at VA hospitals as more female vets seek health care
Built in 1938, at the beginning of World War II, the Hampton VA hospital was designed for an all-male military. Things have changed over the course of 70 years, and now women make up almost 15% of those serving on active duty. Believe it or not, Hampton Roads has the fastest growing population of female veterans, double the national average.
7. Wife hits husband, drags him along Interstate 664
Virginia State Police say a woman nearly killed her husband with his own SUV after a court hearing in Newport News Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in July.
8. Hurricane Sandy raises the dead on Tangier Island
Tangier Island residents discovered bones and artifacts on the beach after Hurricane Sandy unearthed a graveyard from the 1800s.
9. Daughter of Vietnam soldier reunited with priceless heirloom
Investigator Mike Mather reunited Jimmie Stanley’s daughter with heirlooms from her father’s Vietnam service that had been lost for 35 years.
10. USS Montpelier and USS San Jacinto arrive in port after collision
Another Navy collision made the news in October when the the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Montpelier and the USS San Jacinto collided off the East Coast.
