DATE: Wednesday, April 23, 1997             TAG: 9704230447

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY CINDY CLAYTON, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   38 lines

MAN DROWNED IN BROAD CREEK, STATE POLICE SAY

A man whose body was found last week beneath the Broad Creek Bridge, where his abandoned car was discovered, drowned, state police said Tuesday.

An autopsy showed that Michael A. Perry of the 3800 block of Karlin Circle did not suffer any trauma consistent with being hit by a car, said Tammy Van Dame, state police spokeswoman.

The autopsy results confirm that Perry was not knocked off the bridge when his Hyundai was struck by another car the morning of April 13, Van Dame said. A separate examination of the Hyundai showed that Perry had had car trouble and had stopped on the bridge when the car was hit.

His body was found by Norfolk police divers April 16.

Van Dame said media reports generated calls from several witnesses who said they saw only one man on the bridge the morning of April 13 - the driver of the car that hit the Hyundai.

State police still do not know how or why Perry ended up under the bridge and are still investigating.

Investigators know that Perry's car was stopped about halfway across the bridge in the left, westbound lane with its hazard lights on when it was hit by the other car.

When state police arrived, a trooper looked for the driver of the Hyundai but could not find the operator. The accident was originally investigated as a case in which a driver hit Perry's unattended vehicle, Van Dame said.

The other driver was identified as James Griffin, 27, of Virginia Beach. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

About 7 a.m. Sunday, Perry's wife called police to report that her husband was missing. She said he suffered from multiple sclerosis, had lost the sight in his left eye and was having balance problems.

When police realized the Hyundai involved in the accident belonged to the missing man, they called the Norfolk police dive team for help. KEYWORDS: DROWNING

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