A Pittsburgh man known by local police for having mental health problems took his life by blowing up his house on his daughter’s wedding day.
Just minutes before the huge blast that shook the neighborhood and ravaged the house, neighbors had seen the man outside his property. It happened at 318 Garland Street in Edgewood, Pennsylvania, right before 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 14.
“We came outside to see what was going on, and the house was in flames — still standing — but in flames,” neighbor Donna Antolovich told the Post-Gazette. “Three to five minutes before the house blew up, the owner was standing in front of it. After that, nobody could find him.”
“I would say about 60 to 90 seconds after getting out here, the house just collapsed in one large movement with a lot of sound to it,” said another neighbor, Dann Laudermilch, according to the outlet. “By that time it was fully in flames. It went up in flames remarkably fast. I thought it would take longer to burn, but it was like a minute and a half — it was crazy.”
After a long and extensive search, the homeowner’s body was retrieved from beneath the rubble, but Police did not reveal the identity of the victim. According to property records obtained by Daily Mail, the house belonged to 59-year-old John Evans.
Reportedly, Evans was the only casualty at the site. Most of Evans’s family members were attending his daughter Lauren’s wedding on that same day. Another daughter, Ashlee, posted a short comment on Facebook, asking the public to respect the family’s privacy. Police have ruled Evans’ death a suicide.
“This gentleman apparently had some personal issues and we’ve had information from neighbors that would indicate that there’s a great potential here that he would have blown the house up,” said Edgewood Police Chief Robert Payne, per KDKA. “It looks like he may have been able to disconnect the gas line itself in the basement of the house and of course it wouldn’t take much but a spark to explode the house after that.”
A GoFundMe campaign has been started to help Evans’s widow, Shawna and her three daughters cover the expenses and rebuild their lives.
Durham Businessman Killed in North Carolina Gas Explosion
A North Carolina community is mourning the loss of a well-connected businessman after a gas explosion rocked the city.
Durham Police Department has identified Kong Lee, 61, as the only confirmed death from the April 10, 2019 blast that destroyed an entire building in downtown Durham, 143 miles northeast of Charlotte.
Lee owned the Kaffeinate coffee shop, which was at the epicenter of the explosion that has been traced back to a contractor drilling under a sidewalk. The work breached a 2-inch gas line, triggering a gas leak, according to a police statement. However, the exact cause of the blast is still under investigation.
Update on @durhamcityfire firefighter injured in today’s #DurhamExplosion. Our thoughts are with Firefighter Darren Wheeler as he recovers from his injuries. #publicservice #bullcitystrong https://t.co/1X37zSCa5z
— CityofDurhamNC (@CityofDurhamNC) April 10, 2019
The gas explosion hospitalized 17 people, with six in critical condition. According to the city, 11 people were transported to Duke University Medical Center and a further four to Duke Regional Hospital. Among the injured was a Dominion Energy employee and also a Durham firefighter, Darren Wheeler.
Durham County Emergency Medical Services Assistant Chief Lee Van Vleet confirmed the injuries were sustained as a result of the building collapse and fire.
Epoch Times reporter Richard Szabo contributed to this report
