CHICAGO – A lawsuit being filed on behalf of the three men killed in an explosion at Starved Rock State Park claims that undetonated charges were the cause of the blast. The firm of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. in a press release Thursday say the men made a campfire to cook their fish on the south bank of the river on May 6th. While creating a campfire, they reportedly found what appeared to them to be a copper pipe and used it prop up a cast iron pan to cook their fish. The pipe, the suit claims, was an explosive rod utilized by nearby construction and blasting companies working on the old Rt. 178 bridge near Starved Rock State Park. After 7 PM a blast killed brothers Immer Rivera Tejada, 39, Rafael Rivera Tejada, 36, and their nephew Guillermo Rivera Tejada, 26, of Chicago. In a report prepared by the LaSalle County Coroner, citing an investigation by the FBI, claims that the explosive residue at the scene allegedly matches the commercial explosives utilized during the scheduled demolition. On September 22 the family’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against the construction and blasting companies who they say is responsible for the explosive devices.
