By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – An explosion and fire leveled a home on Katherine Street in Buffalo's Old First Ward Wednesday.
Two men working at a steel hauling company across the street rescued a woman calling for help. Truck driver Bill Harris says he and a co-worker rushed to the home at 344 Katherine and pulled out the victim, who was bound at her feet.
"She was tied up. We had to grab her and carry her out. She had her ankles bound together with duct tape," Harris said.
Harris says the woman, Gloria Bush, told them she was pregnant and that a man was trying to kill her. She suffered severe burns and is being treated at the Erie County Medical Center.
Late Wednesday afternoon, police announced the arrest of her boyfriend, David Elersic, who they say set the explosion by disconnecting the gas pipe from a stove.