NEWS UPDATE:
Divers were finally able to locate the pistol said to have been used by the driver in a shootout on US 75.
The gun, a .45 caliber, was recovered in the mud at the bottom of a pond near where the tractor trailer truck crashed.
The driver of a semi that was shot and killed Wednesday has been identified as 53-year-old John Henry Neuman.JohnHenryNewman
According to the OSBI, Neuman was sitting in the cab of his truck after crashing into a pond on US 75. When he was told to get out of the truck by an Okmulgee County deputy, he refused at first.
The OSBI said he did eventually exit the vehicle then raised a gun and started shooting at the deputy.
The deputy returned fire, striking Neuman who fell into the pond. When the deputy tried to rescue Neuman, he was said to have come up out of the water and started shooting again. More shots were fired by the deputy this time incapacitating Neuman
He was taken from the pond to an ambulance where he was pronounced dead.
Neuman, from Gore, was said to have been wearing an ankle monitor after being released from jail. He had been incarcerated there for the 2015 murder of his wife in Sequoyah County. He was charged with second degree murder May 21, 2015. No date was given for when he would go to trial on that charge.
officersA shootout after a traffic accident has left one person dead and shut down US 75 for nearly 30 minutes Wednesday afternoon.
The incident happened north of Schulter near Cedar Road when a northbound semi ran off the roadway, through a fence and into a pond.
According to one witness, volunteer firemen from Schulter were the first emergency personnel to arrive at the scene. The driver of the vehicle was said to have rolled down the window and started shooting a pistol at them.
An Okmulgee County deputy at the scene returned fire. The driver got out of the truck and fell into the water. When he surfaced, he was said to have fired several more rounds.
Officers returned fire again and emergency personnel were able to get the shooter and put him on a gurney. He was taken to a waiting ambulance where he apparently died of his wounds.emergency vehicles
Officers from the Okmulgee County Sheriff's office, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Henryetta police department cordoned off the scene. That closed down both north and southbound lanes US 75 for nearly half an hour.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has been called in to help in the investigation. The deputy involved in the shooting has been placed on routine leave pending completion of the investigation into the incident.