The deaths of three men in an explosion in Utica is one of our top stories of 2021. Three brothers from Chicago went to Utica for a fishing trip in May. They set up a campfire to cook their catch. Their family believes they found an explosive device left behind by bridge demolition workers two months earlier and used it to prop up a pot. If the lawsuit is correct, it was a linear shaped charge and most people wouldn’t know it’s explosive because it looks like a pipe or rod.
When the explosion happened, 39-year old Immer Rivera Tejada, 36-year old Rafael Rivera Tejada, and 26-year old Guillermo Rivera Tejada died. Their family wants compensation to support seven sons and daughters between them. The lawsuit is still in its early stages in Cook County Circuit Court.
The old Illinois 178 bridge over the Illinois River south of Utica closed last year. It came down in March.