Poor visibility underwater and the continued threat of bad weather have delayed progress.The divers say they're determined to finish the job. Frank Keating declared a state of emergency Tuesday, citing a threat to "the lives and property of the people of this state."Ī crew of four highway patrol divers continued to look for cars in the twisted wreckage and treacherous waters beneath the collapsed bridge. The crash toppled a 500-foot section of the highway into the water, causing several vehicles to fall 60 feet into the water. Officials said they believe the tugboat captain may have blacked out, causing the boat to stray from its proper navigation channel and hit the bridge. The bridge collapse occurred Sunday morning after a tugboat pushing two empty barges struck the bridge's support columns on the west side of the Arkansas River I-40 bridge at Webbers Falls. All the bodies recovered so far have been adults. In addition to the 13 bodies recovered, officials have pulled 10 vehicles from the river. Officials earlier confirmed the identity of Andrew Clements, 35, an Army soldier who died while traveling to Virginia from California. Wayne Martin, a Norman police detective, and his wife, Susan, both 49. Misty Johnson, 28, of Lavaca, Ark., and her husband, James Johnson, 30, of Lavaca, Ark.ĭivers are looking for the body of the couple's daughter, Shay Nicole Johnson, 3. Tuesday night, officials released the identities of five more victims: Green and Shanahan were traveling together in a pickup. Her husband, who was not identified, survived the crash and was rescued. Margaret Green, 45, of Stockdale, Texas and Gail Shanahan, 49, of Corpus Christi, Texas.Ĭawley, whose body was recovered Monday, was traveling with her husband in a pickup. Officials confirmed the identities of three more crash victims - Jeanine Katherine Cawley, 58, of Lebanon, Ore. WEBBERS FALLS - Four more bodies and two more cars were pulled Tuesday from the Arkansas River, bringing the official death toll to 13 after Sunday's bridge collapse on Interstate 40.ĭivers from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol continued to feel through the murky waters of the river while other crews picked up crash site debris from the shoreline and the water.
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