Dive teams to return Sunday morning in effort to recover tow truck from Sacramento River

CHP officials on Saturday suspended an all-day search and recovery effort with a barge to hoist a tow truck above the Sacramento River, planning to continue Sunday morning at 7 a.m.

The truck plunged into the river last month after a collision with a tractor-trailer on the Pioneer Bridge, killing two people upon impact, officials said.

After weeks of stalled recovery efforts, a passerby discovered the body of Shalvinesh Sharma, 40, of Sacramento, floating miles south of the location at Garcia Bend Park.

Several law enforcement and state agencies were on standby Saturday as a diver worked underwater to secure the vehicle before it could be raised and possibly recover the body of Roselyn Sharma of Sacramento, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The effort was slow given the nature of the search and strength of the undercurrent, which often moves twice as fast as the top of the river, said CHP spokesman Michael Bradley.

Although the dive team from CS Marine Constructors of Vallejo blew away silt that had built up around the vehicle Friday, the water remained murky.

“Touch and feel. Everything is touch and feel,” Bradley said Saturday, describing the search process. “They have secured one part of the truck but they’re still trying to secure the back end.”

This story was originally published April 13, 2019 at 10:55 AM.