Gas explosion that killed Missouri boy was a second tragedy for the family

Yahoo

12-04-2025

When Jacob Cunningham's wife died unexpectedly in 2023, just two days after their Christmas Day wedding, he became the sole provider for their two children, Camillia and Alistair.
It wasn't always easy for the young family, relatives say. Cunningham commuted from their rental home in Lexington, Missouri, to Liberty to work as a butcher at Price Chopper and relied on family and close friends to help with babysitting when they could.
Cunningham and the kids would talk about their mom in heaven, said Nicole Lovellette, Cunningham's aunt. And the three leaned on one another and other family to get through the last 15 or so months.
It was unthinkable that tragedy would strike again. Especially this soon.
'The kids were starting to do really well,' Lovellette said. 'I mean, it's hard to come back from that kind of setback, the loss of a mother, but they were very resilient.'
Then came the explosion Wednesday evening that leveled the family's home and rocked their neighborhood. Even Cunningham's mother, Cathie Woods, who lives six blocks from the family, heard it and felt her 'house shake and her lights flickered,' Lovellette said.
Hours after the blast, rescue crews found the body of 5-year-old Alistair amid the rubble. The boy who loved Spiderman — and would often shoot his imaginary web at people in fun — would have gone to kindergarten in the fall.
His 10-year-old sister, who goes by Cami, and her father are severely injured, family said, and in separate Kansas City hospitals. The two are in critical but stable condition, according to a GoFundMe account Lovellette set up for the family.
The explosion happened around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday after an employee subcontracted by Sellenriek Construction 'hit a gas line' behind a funeral home at 18th Street and Franklin Avenue, according to city officials.
In a Thursday night news release, Sellenriek Construction CEO Steve Sellenriek wrote that the explosion occurred after the employee struck an unmarked underground gas line while attempting to install fiber optic cable. In the release, Sellenriek stated the gas line was not 'properly marked' with signage or paint above ground.
'According to the information we have gathered as of this moment, the subcontractor followed all required procedures before, during, and after the accident,' Sellenriek said. 'We will continue to support the investigation, and this community.'
Sellenriek also said that the employee called Missouri's 811 information line to verify the location of all underground utilities, including gas lines, before starting to dig.
After the explosion, Liberty Utilities posted about it on its Facebook page.
'Our deepest sympathies and prayers go out to the family and friends of those affected by this tragedy,' the post read.
'The safety and well-being of our customers and communities remains our highest priority.'
Lovellette said the family is left with many questions, including why no one alerted neighbors about the gas leak so they could leave or at least ventilate their homes.
But they're also consumed with grief about having lost Alistair.
When Cunningham was airlifted to Research Medical Hospital on Wednesday night, he was put on a ventilator, his aunt said.
It wasn't until that was removed that his mom told him about his son, who loved to sing silly songs and had just learned to ride his Spiderman bike, which was a Christmas gift.
'And (Cunningham) said, 'I kind of thought that because they wouldn't let me turn on the TV and nobody would answer my questions,'' Lovellette said of her nephew. 'His mind went there because he knew that they couldn't find him.'
After Cunningham's mother heard the explosion Wednesday night, she immediately called her son. He didn't answer.
'She had a really bad pit in her stomach, so she decided to go check on them,' Lovellette said. 'And when she drove over there, she saw that the house was reduced to nothing, and asked where they were, and they said they're at the hospital.'
Initially, Lovellette said the family believed Alistair had also been taken to a hospital.
'It doesn't seem like a house should be reduced to that,' she said. 'I mean, that's a ridiculous amount of force. I mean, it's blown to smithereens.'
Cami and her dad are 'badly burned,' the aunt said. And the burns on the fourth-grader's body are deeper, she said, because Cami was in the shower or getting in when the explosion happened.
'She didn't have that barrier of clothing,' Lovellette said. 'Her burns are worse.'
The young girl was supposed to have had surgery Friday, but that was put off for a couple of days because of an infection.
Cunningham told his mother that he flipped on the lights Wednesday night. That's when the house exploded, family said.
Lovellette said her sister told her that it wasn't until 1 or 1:30 a.m. Thursday that first responders were able to recover Alistair's remains.
'I know that a neighbor tried to get in, like because they were yelling, 'He's still in there,'' Lovellette said. 'The problem is that when the neighbor started walking toward the house, the closer he got, his shoes started melting.'
On Friday, Lovellette spoke to someone from Cami's school. People there want to help replace all of the clothes that the girl has lost.
She and her father will need to start over with everything. Even Cunningham's glasses blew off his face. And their vehicle was destroyed.
'They literally have nothing,' Lovellette said.
After they lost so much in 2023, just two days after Christmas.
Rachel Lamb-Cunningham, who had Type I diabetes, was suffering from the flu and was severely dehydrated, Lovellette said.
She went to the hospital, where medical staff tried over and over to find a vein to hydrate her. After numerous attempts, she said she was tired and frustrated and wanted to go home. She planned to go back to the hospital the next day.
'But she woke up having a seizure,' Lovellette said.
Cunningham has worked since her death to comfort their kids and pay for his wife's funeral expenses. It was just this week, after he got his tax return, that Cunningham was able to pay off those costs, his aunt said.
The hope is that donations now can help pay for Alistair's funeral and help with the care Cami and her dad will need. In addition to the GoFundMe, the family has set up an account at Bank Midwest Bank, 1211 Main St., Lexington, MO 64067 c/o Catherine Woods, Cunningham's mother.
In the coming days, the father and daughter and their extended family will go through the grieving process all over again. Just like the little boy did with them at Christmastime in 2023.
'Alistair would be like, 'You know, my mom's in heaven,'' Lovellette said. 'He was like, 'But I can still talk to her.''
She thinks of his words now.
'He was the sweetest,' Lovellette said. 'I truly believe he's with his mother.'
The Star's Ilana Arougheti contributed.