Bourbonnais Explosion Victim Dies of Injuries

A Bourbonnais man who was critically injured in a gas explosion that destroyed his house has died after spending nearly a month in the burn unit at Loyola University Medical Center, hospital officials said.

Gregory Zuber, 45, who suffered burns over 80 percent of his body, died late Monday, August 28, 2000. The Cook County medical examiner's office planned to perform an autopsy Wednesday.

Zuber's death will not end a police investigation into the explosion, which investigators said was the result of a deliberately severed natural gas line to the kitchen stove, Bourbonnais Police Chief Joseph Beard said Tuesday.

Police had suspected that no one but Zuber, a school psychologist who lived in the house with his 12-year-old daughter, could have had access to the gas line. They were investigating the possibility that the explosion was a suicide attempt.

Because of the seriousness of his injuries, police never were able to interview Zuber about the explosion, Beard said.

Although Zuber's death eliminates the possibility of charges against him for causing the explosion, which resulted in heavy property damage throughout the neighborhood, Beard said that police will continue trying to prove how the explosion occurred. The investigation now rests mostly in the hands of state crime lab scientists who have been examining evidence and debris from the explosion.

As investigators arrived at the scene last week, the clues were not long in coming, State Fire Marshall, Milt Batson said. First, they said they found blood smeared on Zuber’s front door, which was blown across the street. That suggested he had been bleeding before the explosion, because he was found on the other side of the house, Batson said. Next they found that the gas line to the kitchen stove had not been wrenched apart in the blast but cleanly cut, as if with a saw. And then they found the hacksaw submerged in water in the basement in a place that suggested it had been left next to the stove, Batson said.

Later, police received medical reports that Zuber had cuts on the inside of his forearms, running from his wrists to his elbow.

Police said they were awaiting test results on blood found on the stove, floors and front door, but said the amount of blood found is consistent with the cuts found on Zuber’s arms.

Crime lab tests also are still being performed on the hacksaw to determine whether it was used to cut the gas line.

Zuber's house, in a middle-class subdivision of Bourbonnais heavily populated with young families, exploded just before 2 a.m. on July 31, 2000.

Zuber was home alone at the time. His daughter was vacationing with her mother, Zuber's ex-wife.

The blast destroyed his home, spewing debris over several blocks and heavily damaging surrounding houses. The concussion shattered neighbors' windows and, in some cases, even blasted apart walls and damaged the foundations of houses.

Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL) – Wednesday, August 9, 2000 & Wednesday, August 30, 2000

Greg Zuber,  45, of Bourbonnais, Ilinois died Monday August 28, 2000 as a result of  a house explosion which occurred about 1:45 a.m on August 1, 2000.   Zuber died at Loyola University Medical Center burn unit in Maywood with burns over 80% of his body.  He was home alone at the time of the explosion.

A funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bradley, where he was a member. Cremation rites accorded. Inurnment in All Saints Cemetery, Bourbonnais.

Mr. Zuber was born April 23, 1955 in Lawrenceville, IL the son of James N. and Viola A. Rennier Zuber. His mother is deceased.

Surviving are his father of Olney; one daughter, Megan Zuber of Kankakee; his fiancee, Andre' Guimond of Kankakee and her son, Grant; three brothers and sisters-in-law, James J. and Diane Zuber of Granger, Ind., Lloyd and Sally Zuber of the Netherlands, Larry and Jane Zuber of College Station, Texas; three nieces and one nephew.

Mr. Zuber had been a school psychologist for Bourbonnais School District for 20 years and coordinator at the Kankakee County Special Education Cooperative for two years. He had received bachelor's and master's degrees from Eastern Illinois University and also did post graduate work from Governors State University.  He enjoyed golfing and traveling.

Published in (IL-Central) Kankakee Daily Journal ~ August 30, 2000