Authorities identify 77-year-old man killed in suburban Chicago house explosion

The Lake County Coroner's Office identified the man as Timothy Toczylowski Friday evening. He was staying at the home, authorities said.

First responders found the house flattened after the explosion around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in Lake Zurich, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. The man's body was later found among the rubble.

Authorities said Toczylowski was identified through his dental records.

Tiffany Koch told WLS-TV she heard the explosion, ran outside and saw the house next door burning.

“There was a big boom. I don’t even know how to describe it,” Koch said. “It looked like a tree had fallen, but there was no real shaking except for that brief second.”

Two other houses were damaged. A crew from a utility company had to dig gas lines to cut off the natural gas supply to the property. This allowed firefighters to put out the flames, authorities said.

The coroner's office said Friday that the cause of the explosion was still under investigation.