The three Davenport men killed in the May 28 partial collapse of The Davenport died from "multiple blunt force injuries with mechanical asphyxia."
The state's office of the Medical Examiner made that ruling after the autopsies of Branden Colvin Sr., Ryan Hitchcock and Daniel Prien.
The information was released through the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Its information officer declined to include time of death, citing state law. The medical examiner's office also declined to explain if the injuries would have caused immediate death, or if any of the three men survived for a period of time in the rubble.
Colvin Sr.'s body was the first recovered from the wreckage at 11:59 a.m. June 3. Hitchcock's body was recovered at 12:45 p.m. June 4, and Prien's body was recovered at 2:30 a.m. June 5.
Colvin Sr.'s family members filed a wrongful death lawsuit and claimed he was in his fifth-floor apartment when he was “ Violently swept from his apartment, falling with the debris and buried under multiple feet of rubble.” It alleges he “Remained alive under the rubble, potentially for days, until he later died.”
Six defendants are named in the family's lawsuit: building owner Andrew Wold; Wold-held properties Davenport Hotel, LLC and Andrew Wold Investments, LLC; Select Structural Engineering, LLC; Bi-State Masonry, Inc.; and the City of Davenport.
The family is represented by attorneys Rick Keys of Keys Law Offices in Rock Island, as well as Brian Galligan and Amber Haberl of Galligan Law PC in Des Moines.
The Colvin family's suit was the first that alleged wrongful death and the filing offers a stark narrative about the collapse.
Photos: March held Saturday to "bring awareness to the horrific event on May 28 building collapse at 324 Main St.
FILE - An apartment building that partially collapsed two days earlier is seen, Tuesday, May 30, 2023, in Davenport, Iowa. Iowa's health agency said Monday, July 31, 2023, that three men killed in the collapse more than two months ago died of blunt-force injuries and asphyxiation.