Body of fifth victim recovered from truck in Key Bridge wreckage

Authorities have found Miguel Ángel Luna González, the fifth victim of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse to be pulled from the Patapsco River.

Officers recovered the body of Luna, 49, from inside a red truck discovered by salvage teams, the Key Bridge Unified Command said late Wednesday in a news release.

Nearly 40 days the collapse killed six workers, friends of the Glen Burnie welder and beloved family man expressed a mix of relief and sadness that Luna’s remains had been found.

The body of José Mynor López, a father of four who was from Guatemala and lived in Dundalk, remains missing. Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said in the release that teams remain dedicated to ongoing recovery efforts.

State Police investigators, Maryland Transportation Authority Police and the FBI recovered Luna’s body Wednesday from the truck.

“With the news that a fifth victim has been located, there is some small peace provided to another family amidst all the agony they’ve endured,” Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement Thursday. “To the family still waiting, our entire city joins you in hope for the same closure soon and shares in your grief.”

Divers previously recovered the bodies of Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, 26, originally from Guatemala; Maynor Suazo Sandoval, 38, originally from Honduras; Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, originally from Mexico; and Carlos Daniel Hernandez, who was in his 20s and was originally from Mexico.

The victims were part of a Brawner Builders crew working on the bridge when it was struck by the cargo ship Dali early in the morning of March 26 and collapsed into the Patapsco River. Crews have been clearing parts of bridge, roadway and other debris using giant cranes and claws to find the victims and reopen a deepwater shipping channel by the end of May.

Friends have described Luna, an immigrant from El Salvador, as a joyful father of three and grandfather. Luna and his wife, Maria del Carmen, operated a pink-and-white food truck, Pupuseria Y Antojitos Carmencita Luna, and he was known to bring food to job sites to share. Last month, friends and family hosted a memorial soccer tournament in his honor.

Ratneswar Roychowdhury developed a friendship with Luna and his wife over the last few years despite a language barrier.

“I feel sad. Devastated,” Roychowdhury said when he learned of the recovery of Luna’s body.

The two men bonded over food from their respective cultures and Roychowdhury frequently bought tacos and pupusas from the food truck, which is usually parked in Glen Burnie.

Luna’s widow, Carmen, recently returned to work.

“I think she is trying to revive herself because she has to live her good life over here,” Roychowdhury said. “I told her to put his image on all the sides of the truck and to write that this food truck is in memory of Miguel Luna. She said she will contact the painter.”

Roychowdhury bought a chicken salad Wednesday from the food truck.

“We all should support his family because this is the time to support them,” he said.

Kim Luna, a next-door neighbor of Miguel Luna who isn’t related to him, said she was pleased for his family’s sake to hear the news.

“My heart is relieved. The burden of the situation has been lifted off my shoulders, so I can only imagine how Mrs. Luna feels, and the family, just knowing that their loved one has been found,” Kim Luna said.

Pedro Luna, another neighbor of the Lunas who is not related to them, became emotional Thursday when he learned the body had been recovered and he thought about Miguel Luna’s family.

“I was just thinking, there’s still two bodies out there and one is Mr. Miguel. What kind of emotions will they go through, what condition? Sometimes when you see, you can’t unsee, but you want to see your family member.”

“Oh, Mr. Miguel,” he said.

He was glad that the family was no longer stuck in limbo, waiting for the discovery. He said he told his wife earlier this week that they should be supporting Carmen Luna’s food truck as much as possible.

“Right now, she is the head of the family,” he said.

Alvaro Lizama, who knew Luna when the pair played on a professional soccer team in El Salvador, also had mixed feelings.

“It is a very sad thing for all of us who knew him, and even more so for his family,” Lizama wrote in a message in Spanish.

But at the same time, it ends a difficult period of uncertainty, said Lizama, who lives in California.

“Thank God that this anguish for his family and friends has ended,” he wrote.

Baltimore Sun reporter Christine Condon contributed to this article.