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'It gives us some closure': Brother of CBBT box truck crash driver speaks after his body was found in N.C.

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Posted at 12:06 PM, Apr 13, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-13 18:33:56-04

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - For close to four months, Kevin Mezick left his home in Maryland and searched the waters of the Chesapeake Bay near Fisherman's Island in hopes to find his brother, Erik.

"I made about 40 or more trips there," said Kevin.

News 3 was there as Kevin scanned the bay one morning in January, looking for a needle in a haystack.

"I would go a couple times a week. I was ready to leave Saturday morning; I was packed and ready to go," he said.

47-year-old Erik Mezick was a devoted husband and father of two. He plunged off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in his box truck into frigid waters on December 29, 2020.

"The first day down there, the waterman told me, 'You won't find him until the end of April or March,' and they told me I was wasting my time, and it made me mad at first," he explained.

But the waterman of the Eastern Shore were right. Once the water warmed up, Erik came to the surface nearly four months later and 166 miles south on Friday morning between Avon and Salvo on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. He was found by a resident taking a beach walk.

"We were full of emotion all over again," said Kevin.

Erik still had his uniform on and his wallet in his pocket; Kevin said his body was perfectly preserved. He immediately went down to be where his brother came ashore.

"I wanted to be where he was at. It was good knowing he is not in water by himself anymore, and it brings it to an end a little bit of closure," said Kevin.

The family thanks the volunteers who tirelessly assisted in the search for Erik. They will now proceed to having a private burial.

Related: Wife of box truck driver that crashed into water off CBBT talks to News 3