Second victim of explosion identified

A man and woman injured in a house explosion this past week on the Near East Side remained hospitalized Tuesday, a spokesman for the Columbus Division of Fire said.

Investigators released the name of the man — Dontaye D. Connor, 33, of Columbus — on Tuesday afternoon. The woman, Vernice D. Hill, 36, of Columbus, was identified Friday.

Connor was listed in critical but stable condition and Hill was listed in serious but stable condition, both at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center.

Hill and Connor were inside a two-unit house Friday morning on the 400 block of North 20th Street, between Fabron Avenue and Atcheson Street, when the duplex exploded, injuring both of them. Police and firefighters and a group of construction workers in the neighborhood at the time pulled them from the wreckage.

The building, along with others on the same block, belongs to the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority and was supposed to be vacant for renovations.

The explosion remains under investigation, Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief Steve Martin said. Investigators also are looking into why Hill and Connor were inside a vacant home, Martin said.

CMHA is investigating reports of scrap-metal theft inside the duplex prior to the blast, Columbus Fire Chief Kevin O’Connor said Friday. Natural gas might have caused the explosion, he said Tuesday.

Columbia Gas tested its gas lines in the neighborhood following the explosion and found they were working normally, spokesman Dave Rau said in an email. The company is certain that its lines did not contribute to the blast, he said.