The driver of an Evans Transport truck died Thursday after the truck was blown off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Evans Transport LLC is located in Washington; the driver, 47-year-old Joseph Chen, was from Greenville.

According to an Associated Press report, strong winds blew the tractor-trailer off the bridge near mile post 15, and Chen was briefly seen standing on top of the trailer of the partially submerged truck. Chen died shortly after a U.S. Navy helicopter crew based out of Norfolk pulled him from the water. At the time of the accident, the water temperature was 44 degrees, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Data Buoy Center.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel authority had issued a Level I wind advisory earlier on Thursday. Level 1 wind speeds reach up to 40 miles per hour; later in the day, the advisory was upgraded to Level 2, with wind speeds of 47 miles per hour. During a Level 2 wind advisory, tractor-trailers bearing less than a 30,000-pound load are barred from crossing the facility, according to the CBBT website.

Chen is survived by his wife of 10 years, Billie Jo Chen, who described Chen as “an awesome husband” in the Associated Press report, and two children. Chen had been employed as truck driver for Evans Transport LLC for 10 years.

A representative from Evans Transport LLC said he was not authorized to make a statement about the accident when reached on Friday.