New details have emerged about an explosion which claimed the lives of three fishermen from Chicago. Contrary to popular belief, this was not the incident of drunken boys will be boys gone wrong which everyone originally assumed. The family is suing the officials and contractors responsible for the “demolition of the old Route 178 bridge.” Work crews seem to have negligently left some high explosives lying around where the unsuspecting anglers could find them. What they did with the apparently harmless object cost them their lives.
Explosion probe takes new twist
Back in May, everyone was riveted by the tale of three Chicago men killed in a strange explosion at Starved Rock State Park. The sketchy details available at the time led most everyone to the conclusion that the men were doing something to have some fun with homemade explosives and something went wrong.
That’s not the case. Inmer, Rafael and Guillermo Rivera Tejada were on a fishing trip “along the Illinois River in LaSalle County.” Right about supper time, things went horribly wrong.
“Several agencies responded to reports of an explosion in the area of the Route 178 bridge.” When they got there, they found bits and pieces.
Without actually making the information fully available to the public at the time, officials claimed the blast “was not related to the recent demolition of the old Route 178 bridge.” It looks like they lied. Months later, the family has enough proof of what happened to file a lawsuit.
The new and improved theory is that “the fatal explosion was caused by a device meant for a nearby bridge demolition that never detonated.” Maluc Cordoba-Arce informs the press that these “men were our brothers and husbands. These men were three pillars of our family. Our children will now grow up without their dads.”
Cordoba-Arce was the wife of Immer Rivera Tejada and explains “it was supposed to be a fun trip with two brothers and a nephew.” Today, she declares, “I’m here to pursue the justice and accountability our family deserves.”
Just cooking dinner
Back in May, the tres hombres of the Rivera Tejada family “went fishing as they often did.” Their family attorney describes what happened then. They went fishing in May but the story starts in March. That’s when “three construction and blasting companies were in charge of demolishing a nearby bridge.”
They seem to have missed an unexploded charge in the cleanup which led directly to the fatal explosion. It seemed to the men like the perfect thing “to prop up a cast iron pan to cook their fish, thinking it was just a copper pipe.” It wasn’t. All three men were fathers leaving behind 7 children ages 3 to 15.
“As it turns out, Patrick Salvi explains, “this copper pipe was an undetonated linear-shaped charge.” Not the kind of thing one would want inside a campfire ring.
According to the wrongful death lawsuit he filed, “the companies failed to control the explosive materials at all times and failed to perform an adequate post-blast inspection.” Safety First! “This lawsuit is filed on behalf of the family because this fatal occurrence should have never happened.” He’s right. The deadly explosion was “very avoidable,” he added.
The family has obviously been devastated. “There are still days I wake up and find for a moment I forget my husband is dead,” Cordoba-Arce relates.
“And everyday our children are reminded that their fathers are never coming back.” The construction companies allegedly responsible for the negligent explosion aren’t answering their phones for reporters.