Police standoff ends with explosion in Illinois

BURBANK, Ill. -- A standoff with police ended when a man who barricaded himself in a garage allegedly set off an explosion that seriously injured both him and a police lieutenant.

Both men were rushed to a nearby hospital and then airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Jaroslaw Dabrowski, 29, was listed in critical condition with burns over more than 30 percent of his body. Lt. Michael Summers, 46, was in serious condition with burns over 15 percent of his body.

The standoff started shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday when police in the community southwest of Chicago responded to a domestic disturbance at a house, police said.

When they arrived, police saw Dabrowski run from the house into the garage, said Sgt. William Kreitzer. A short time later, he said, officers heard a hissing sound and smelled propane.

Summers attempted to talk Dabrowski out of the garage. But Dabrowski, who police could see holding up a lighter and another ignition device, threatened to blow up the garage, said Kreitzer.

About a half hour later, an explosion tore through the garage, collapsing the roof and the walls. It injured both Dabrowski and Summers, who was talking to Dabrowski from the yard of the house, closer to the garage than any of the other officers at the scene.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the small fire and the two injured men were taken to a nearby hospital.

Kreitzer said marital problems between Dabrowski and his wife led to the domestic disturbance, but that police had no further details.

He said Dabrowski had not been charged with any crimes as of Monday morning, but that charges were pending.