Norfolk couple’s Caribbean vacation ends in tragedy after cruise ship docked in Mexico

COZUMEL ISLAND, Mexico (WAVY) — A Navy veteran and local nurse were killed Tuesday when they crashed a motorcycle during an excursion from their cruise ship.

According to a Mexican media report, Robert Baker, 72, and Diane Baker, 62 of Norfolk had rented a motorcycle Tuesday after their ship had docked at this island off Cancun. The Bakers’ ship, Norwegian Sky, was scheduled to depart Cozumel at 5 p.m. that evening. They crashed sometime Tuesday on a Cozumel road. A passing motorist noticed the motorcycle Tuesday night.

“They were good parents to me growing up,” said the couple’s son Sam Eisenhuth from his home in Camp Hill, Pa. “I have fond memories of TV shows we’d watch together and vacations we took,”

He said they led inspirational lives that touched many other lives.

“Diane was a nurse. That was her profession since I was a little kid, that’s what she went to school for,” he said. “Dad was prior Navy, he was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He was very proud of that. I followed in his footsteps, I was in the Navy as well.”

The Bakers were on the second of back-to-back cruises.

“In the later years, after the kids were out of the house, they did a lot of traveling, they did cruises,” Eisenhuth said, adding that Diane was a nurse at Sentara Leigh Hospital and his father retired from there.

Their son said the Bakers’ were familiar with motorcycles.

“They’ve ridden scooters in the past, and Dad used to own a motorcycle,” he said.

Sentara sent WAVY this statement regarding Diane Baker:

“The Sentara Leigh Hospital team is saddened to hear from a family member about the tragic death of a fellow employee while on vacation. We are coping with the sudden loss of a beloved teammate and respected clinician whose presence will be missed. Her work team is receiving emotional and spiritual support. We offer our sincerest condolences to her family and are respecting their request for privacy.“

Eisenhuth said the family is trying to get more information through the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.

The Bakers were members of Real Life Christian Church in Chesapeake.