Jacquelyn Rodriguez Essawi lost her little dog Jax and most of her possessions when a gas explosion leveled two townhomes in the southwest suburbs Tuesday night.
“Everything, I lost everything,” she said through sobs.
The explosion happened about 7 p.m. Tuesday night in Romeoville after, investigators say, a cable company crew somehow ruptured a gas line hours earlier. Two Nicor workers were injured in the blast.
“I don’t know the full extent of the injuries to our fellow employees,” said Joe Delreal of Nicor. “Our hearts and prayers go out to them and their families.”
An explosion in 1999 in the same area took out 30 units where Tuesday’s explosion destroyed both townhomes, officials confirmed Tuesday night.
Latoya Ellis lives across the street from the two destroyed homes and learned Tuesday that the building she lives in now had blown up 17 years ago.
“If they knew that this problem happened before, why would they allow someone to drill again?” she asked.
Officials did not have an immediate answer to questions like Ellis’.
“Why there were two explosions at the same house—I don’t know,” said Romeoville Police Chief Mark Turvey. “Hopefully an investigation will determine why that was.”
