Searchers recover 18-wheeler, trucker’s body from Lake Texoma

Crews recovered an 18-wheeler and the body of the rig’s driver early Tuesday morning, almost five days after the truck, which was hauling about 27,000 pounds of paint and supplies veered off a bridge and plunged into Lake Texoma following a fiery collision.

On Monday divers attached flotation devices and a tow line to the truck, which ended up submerged in the lake after colliding with a car Thursday on the Roosevelt Bridge.

The body and the rig were recovered at around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.

"Amazing work performed by all involved, our prayers go out to the families,” Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Scott Hampton said in a tweet.

The rig collided with a red 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier at around 2 p.m. Thursday on the bridge, went through the guardrail and plunged into the lake, where it ended up submerged in about 50 feet of water.

The driver of the car died in the crash, and the driver of the truck was presumed dead in the submerged wreckage, which is where divers later located his body.