The family of two brothers and their nephew who died in an explosion along a bank of the Illinois River next to Starved Rock State Park on May 6 has hired a law firm to look into what caused the tragedy.
Family of three killed in Utica explosion hires Chicago firm to investigate incident
Unmute
CHICAGO (WEEK) The attorneys representing the families of the three killed in an explosion in Utica last week say they will be investigating the incident.
The May 6 explosion near the Ill. Route 178 bridge near Starved Rock State Park killed family members Inmer Riveera Tejada, 39, Rafael Rivera Tejada, 36, and Guillermo Rivera Tejada, 26. A thorough and exhaustive investigation needs to be done, family attorney Tara Devine said.
The families have retained the law firm Salvi, Schostok and Pritchard, P.C., based out of Chicago.
In a statement sent to media outlets Wednesday, the firm says they believe there is no reason the three had anything whatsoever to do with the handling of, or knowingly using explosive devices.
Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times file
Helmut Jahn and I once talked I can’t believe this conversation was 21 years ago already about Sony Center, his then-brand new project opening on Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.
As we went over the details of the $800 million project, Jahn focused on a cobblestone-like curved walkway that led from the street into the complex. The path is privately owned, but Jahn purposely gave it the feel of a public way. He wanted the public to venture into Sony Center and feel like they belonged.
That was quite a design gesture in 2000, given that just a little more than a decade before, Potsdamer Platz was a barricaded Cold War no-man’s land dividing East from West. But Sony officials, contrary to Jahn’s vision of openness, wanted doors at the walkway’s entrance.
3 men killed in explosion near Starved Rock identified Three men were found dead after a report of an explosion Thursday evening near Utica. Scott Anderson/Shaw Media
Updated 5/10/2021 5:41 PM
The three men who died after apparently igniting an explosive powder near Starved Rock State Park were relatives from Chicago, the LaSalle County 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 Coroner Rich Ploch. He said the men were related but couldn t provide specifics.
The LaSalle County Coroner s Office has released the names of the three men who were killed in an explosion near Starved Rock State Park last Thursday. They have been identified as 39-year-old Immer E. Rivera Tejada, 26-year-old Guillermo E. Rivera Tejada, and 36-year-old Rafael R. Rivera Tajada, all of Chicago.
The three are thought to have ignited a black powder substance along the Illinois River near Utica. Authorities haven t said why, but don t suspect any criminal intent. The men s deaths are thought to be accidental.
The investigation into the explosion is ongoing.