My chip remained in tact. I only heard a small pop and the distinct odor of burning electronics. After powering down the board, further inspection by smell pinpointed that it indeed was the driver chip that failed.
At the time of failure, the motor was just holding, not turning. I had just finished testing at 30VDC. My plan was to slowly turn it up to 36VDC, since I had already purchased a 36V power supply for the board. I never made it past 32VDC.
I have a board on order as shown in the pictures posted by Tony, except that I had ordered it through Ebay before Tony added to this blog. I e-mailed Tony and he confirmed that his board can be run at 36VDC.