The body of the truck driver - an employee of a poultry processing company - was recovered from the bay at 5:40 a.m. Authorities set up a boom to contain debris around the truck, which jutted from the shallow water, while tow companies worked to remove it with cranes.
After the crash, officials opened the westbound span to two-way traffic. But its three lanes were not nearly enough to handle the crush of traffic on a sunny Sunday in August. Beach-goers, day-trippers, residents and those returning from vacations clogged the span and backed up traffic for more than 10 miles in both directions.
Bernie McManigal, 40, of Terrytown, Pa., sat dejectedly in a pickup truck around 2 p.m. while her passenger got out to walk a dog on the shoulder of the road. "We're wasting my beach time," she said before traffic inched ahead again
When the bumper-to-bumper crawl came to a standstill, many sport utility drivers turned off their engines, presumably to save gas. Motorists who managed to exit the highway produced long lines that snaked around the Wendy's, McDonald's and gas stations that line College Parkway to get another kind of fuel for the long afternoon ahead.
At a Wawa Food Market, five miles west of the Bay Bridge, motorists said it took them more than two hours to get from the bridge to the market.
"We're out of toilet paper, and there are about 70 people lined up to use the bathroom," said Michael Shannon, an assistant manager. By 2:30 p.m., motorists had nearly emptied the food cases of salads, fruit and sodas and drained the Wawa of more than two-thirds of its fuel - with no hope of a refill anytime soon.
Drivers took different approaches to dealing with the gridlock.
One woman danced on the shoulder of U.S. 50, the music on her iPod silent to those around her. A teenage boy stood atop the family car to survey the backup. Unable to reach public restrooms, many left their vehicles and walked into nearby woods.
By late afternoon, about a dozen emergency and utility vehicles, tow trucks and cranes were parked on the bridge near the crash site, while a number of sailboats and motorboats - mostly containing curious passers-by - formed a semicircle around the half-submerged truck.
With the rear of the trailer jutting out of the water, the back door appeared to be open and mangled. The cab was submerged.
Green said the recovery of the rig was "a work in progress," adding that crews have several options to remove it. He expects it to be removed today.
