x
Breaking News
More () »

'I was friends with all of them': Woman speaks about home owners where explosion killed four people

Chief Hood said the home was 12 feet underground and about 4,000 square feet.

SAN ANTONIO — KENS 5 is learning new insight in the underground home explosion where four people were killed.  Grandmother Clara Aguilar said she lived on the K-Bar Services property and said she probably would not have survived. Aguilar said she lives about 50 feet or less from where the blast happened on Friday. She said, that night, she was in the hospital with her granddaughter. 

Aguilar said she also knew all four victims. So far, two of them have identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office, which include: Roger Huron, Jr and Ashley Autobee. 

"I knew all of them," she said. "I was friends with all of them."

Aguilar said she lived on the 75-acre property near the underground home. She thinks about what if she was in her RV the night of the blast. 

"Everyday," she said. "Everyday."

Hours before, she said the owner of the underground home, who she said is one of the four victims, drove her to the hospital. She said her granddaughter had an accident.  

"I texted him when the surgery was done," Aguilar said. "And I said she just got out of surgery. She is doing well. I sent him a picture, and he said she is a trooper, glad she was fine and that was the last. That was it."

Officials have not released that man's identity. However, Aguilar said he was caring. She says he built that home and was doing nothing illegal inside. On Tuesday, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood showed pictures of what the property looked like before and after the explosion.

"So far, investigators have been able to rule out a drug lab," he said. "We have been able to rule out explosive devices. "When I got out there and saw it yesterday, it was absolutely unsettling as far as the devastation that we witnessed," Chief Hood said. "You don't see this type of explosion inside of a building like this."

Chief Hood said the home was 12 feet underground and about 4,000 square feet.  A strong possibility of the explosion, could be gas.

"We did have some reports of people on the property that several hours before the explosion that they smelled gas," an SAFD fire official said. "So, we are examining the propane tank on the site."

Aguilar said she remembered smelling something foul, before leaving to the hospital. She mentioned the following about the owner, and said all the rumors are false. 

"I knew he wouldn't have had anyone in that house or on that property if he even thought for a minute that could happen," she said.

As for Aguilar, all her dogs survived. It is all she has left. While she grieves, she is left wondering where to go next. She doesn't know how bad off her home looks right now. Investigators said they don't expect to find any more victims and say this investigation is far from over.

Before You Leave, Check This Out