May 10, 2021
4/6/21 Starved Rock State Park – Studstill Media Photo
OTTAWA – The victims of the explosion last Thursday evening at Starved Rock State Park have been identified. According to LaSalle County Coroner Rich Ploch, killed were three men from Chicago. The investigation is ongoing, but authorities say 39-year-old Immer E. Rivera Tejada, 26-year-old Guillermo E. Rivera Tejada and 36-year-old Rafael R. Rivera Tejada were killed when they allegedly ignited black powder while fishing along the Illinois River.
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Photo from Starved Rock State Park’s online gallery.
The three men who died after apparently igniting an explosive powder near Starved Rock State Park were relatives from Chicago, the coroner’s office said Monday.
They have been identified as Immer Rivera Tejada, 39, Guillermo Rivera Tejada, 26 and Rafael Rivera Tejada, 36, according to LaSalle County Coroner Rich Ploch. He said the men were related but couldn’t provide specifics.
He said autopsy results were likely at least a few weeks from being released as investigators continue to investigate what caused the explosion along the Illinois River near the state park, about 75 miles southwest of Chicago.
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With the clouds parting on cue and the lake glistening in the distance, city leaders officially opened the last stretch of the much-delayed Navy Pier Flyover project today.
“It’s taken a while,” Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi said of the project that began in 2014. “But we did it as funding became available and we never gave up. We kept pushing forward.”
The flyover is the final section of the $64 million project, which stretches 18 miles from South 71st to Hollywood.
UpdatedMon, May 10, 2021 at 4:21 pm CT
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Starved Rock State Park is near Utica, Illinois. (Tim Moran/Patch)
UTICA, IL The three men who died after authorities said they ignited a black powder near Starved Rock State Park have been identified by the LaSalle County Coroner s Office.
The bodies of Immer Rivera Tejada, 39, Guillermo Rivera Tejada, 26, and Rafael Rivera Tejada, 36, were discovered last Thursday night near the old Route 178 bridge, according to LaSalle County Coroner Rich Ploch.
While investigators are still looking into the incident, authorities said the explosion appears to have been an accident while the three men were fishing.
By WMAY Newsroom
Photo: Shutterstock
Three men have died in an explosion that occurred while they were fishing Thursday near Starved Rock State Park in LaSalle County.
The coroner there says the three were fishing along the Illinois River when they ignited some sort of black powder in a hole, setting off a large explosion that fatally injured all three. Authorities say they might have done it for entertainment, or theorize that they might have been trying to start a fire in order to cook food.
Autopsies are planned, and the names of the men have not been released.