Pair file suit over Woodstock explosion; they were in their driveway when blast lifted car into air

One year after a home explosion rocked Woodstock, the city is being accused of negligence in a new lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed Oct. 9, one year to the day of the explosion. The plaintiffs, Nelida Del Valle Andrade Perez and Alexis Antonio Valor Quintana, lived at 327½ Lincoln Avenue in Woodstock, next door to the home that was left in rubble. Neighboring homes were also damaged.

[ Photos: Woodstock explosion then and now ]

The day of the explosion, the plaintiffs had just gotten into a vehicle in their driveway when the blast lifted the car into the air, injuring them when it crashed to the ground, the lawsuit states. They also witnessed the explosion and the damage it caused to their home and surrounding homes.

The city, the police department, Woodstock Fire/Rescue District, Visu-Sewer Illinois and Visu-Sewer, LLC are named as defendants. Nicor Gas is named as a “respondent in discovery,” according to the lawsuit.

[ Revisit our coverage of the 2023 Woodstock explosion ]

The lawsuit claims the city was negligent in supervising the work Visu-Sewer was doing and didn’t notify the company of the gas lines before excavation work started. The lawsuit also claims that the city failed to prevent Visu-Sewer from hitting the gas line and failed to notify and warn people about the gas leak. The city failed to evacuate people and “failed to act reasonably to prevent bodily harm as a result of the gas leak,” according to the lawsuit.

Because of the injuries Andrade Perez and Valor Quintana suffered that day, according to the lawsuit, they “have endured, and will in the future endure, pain and suffering; have become disabled; have suffered substantial emotional distress; have suffered a loss of the enjoyment of a normal life; have incurred past and future medical expenses; have been damaged in their capacity to earn a living; and have suffered a loss of their personal property.”

The pair are seeking more than $50,000 in damages.

A fire district official declined comment, while message left for other defendants were not immediately returned. Allyson Cox, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, also could not be immediately reached. No summons were issued when the lawsuit was filed, according to court records.

On Oct. 9, 2023, Visu-Sewer was out doing cleaning and televising work and hit a gas line cross-bored with the sewer line. Gas backed up into homes causing the explosion, according to city documents.

The explosion leveled one home and left the residence of Andrade Perez and Valor Quintana a shell. Twenty-two people were displaced and 20 structures were damaged, according to city reports at the time. A second gas leak was reported on that block later in October, but officials said it was isolated.

The city of Woodstock has continued to assert that it is not at fault for the home explosion and, according to city documents would “tender” any lawsuits it received to Nicor and Visu-Sewer.

The home that exploded is not currently being rebuilt and is being “retired” from the tax rolls, but the home Andrade Perez and Valor Quintana lived in is currently under reconstruction.

The case is due in court Jan. 9.