Overview
- Ivan A. Perez, 33, of Pasadena, Texas, was identified by the DuPage County Coroner after his body was recovered from a storm culvert and the coroner listed drowning as the probable cause pending toxicology.
- Two Vortex Lining Systems contractors were swept into an 11-foot storm pipe during intense storms, and firefighters rescued one worker while Perez remained missing until recovery teams found him.
- Responders halted active entry into the pipe when rising water and unsafe air conditions made the scene too hazardous, turning an initial rescue into a recovery operation that concluded the next day.
- OSHA has opened a formal workplace investigation that may take months to determine whether Vortex followed safety rules, and the company says it is supporting Perez’s family while declining detailed public comment.
- The crew was working on a multi-year rehabilitation of a roughly 2,200-foot, 11-foot-diameter storm culvert beneath downtown Downers Grove, and heavy runoff and confined-space hazards in such pipes can make emergency work and rescues dangerous.