Investigators have yet to determine why a speeding car hit a median, crashed and exploded near a border checkpoint at the Niagara Falls International Rainbow Bridge.
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The United States and Canadian governments went into high alert, four international bridges were closed and cross-border train travel came to a halt after a car exploded on the American side of a Niagara Falls bridge, upending travel plans and sowing fear on the busiest travel day of the year.
Two people died Wednesday in the crash after hitting a median at the Niagara Falls International Rainbow Bridge in New York as they sped toward Canada, but Gov. Kathy Hochul said investigators found no indications of terrorism. The car flew over an eight-foot fence before it burst into a cloud of flames and oily smoke, she said.
Video shows a scene that looks like it was “generated by A.I.,” Ms. Hochul said. The only piece of the car left was the engine, she said, and pieces of the vehicle were scattered for yards near an inspection station.
“There was a horrific incident, a crash, an explosion, loss of life,” she said. “But at this time, no known terrorist connection.”
But the crash, which happened around 11:30 a.m. on the day before Thanksgiving, set off a race to protect residents and discover what happened. With tension across the globe running high because of the Israel-Hamas war, fear spread at the speed of the internet.
Robert Restaino, mayor of Niagara Falls, N.Y., said in an interview that his office had been inundated with calls and that he had found himself confronting conspiracy theories that were exploding online. Rumors spread about a second car, a rental truck, a threat to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. All were untrue.
“It really just started to unfold into one bizarre, frightening terror narrative after another,” Mr. Restaino said.
In the hours after the crash, however, officials took no chances. Buffalo’s Peace Bridge to Canada was temporarily closed, as were the Lewiston-Queenston and Whirlpool Bridges. Other crossings were on “heightened alert status.” The Rainbow Bridge remained impassable.
Amtrak officials said service between New York State and Toronto was suspended, and officers from the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority were screening cars coming into the Buffalo and Niagara Falls airports for explosives. About 400 miles away, Mayor Eric Adams said the New York Police Department would post officers at entry points to the city.
In Niagara Falls, the bridge was blocked by a ranks of law enforcement vehicles whose lights illuminated the bridge, which is about 500 yards from the towering falls, a tourist attraction for centuries. The herd of cruisers became an attraction of its own by late Wednesday afternoon. Tourists took pictures of the cars and military vehicles. Some posed for selfies.
Rickie Wilson, a 65-year-old tour guide, said he had seen the speeding car leave the ground as it crashed.
“It hit a concrete barrier and went up,” he said. “It came down and hit an inspection booth.” He added: “I know I sound crazy, but the car was in the air. And not three or four feet in the air. It was like something you see in Hollywood.”
Mike Guenther, who was interviewed by local television station WGRZ-TV, said he was walking down Main Street in Niagara Falls, N.Y., with his wife when the car sped past them, headed toward a border checkpoint at the bridge. Mr. Guenther said the driver lost control after swerving to avoid a car ahead.
Surveillance video shared by NBC News showed the vehicle speeding and taking flight. Then it showed flames. The car came to rest in a secondary inspection area a few feet from a customs agent who was slightly injured, said Mr. Restaino, the mayor.
Mr. Restaino said in an interview that investigators had confirmed there were two occupants, a man and a woman, who were believed to be a couple in their late 40s or early 50s. Investigators believe they may have been coming from the nearby Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino, though their destination was unclear, he said.
As the evening wore on, he said key questions remained: “Where was he going? Was this an intentional act on his part? Was it a medical event?”
“There’s a number of things that still haven’t been fleshed out,” Mr. Restaino added.
The mayhem immediately unsettled two national capitals already on edge because of the roiling war between Israel and Hamas.
President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland were briefed in Washington.
“We are taking this extremely seriously,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons in brief comments before he left for an update on the situation.
Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s public safety minister, said that “All measures are being taken to ensure that people will be safe.” And on the Ontario side of the bridge, three heavy snowplows were brought in to block the entrance.
On the night before Thanksgiving, the Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls would ordinarily be full of cars, creating a river of brake lights. But as the sun set, the only lights visible were those atop dozens of police vehicles. Officers to the bridge’s north, east and south directed traffic. The parking lot of the Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino, ordinarily full, was virtually empty.
PJ Ward-Brown of Asheboro, N.C., who had been on board a trolley with his family going through Niagara Falls State Park at the time of the crash, said the incident would upend his Thanksgiving plans. The family had planned to go into Canada.
The mist from the falls and overcast skies had obstructed his view of the bridge at the time of the explosion. But when the pleasure trip was done, he found his car was blocked in a cordoned-off area. A State Police officer took his keys and retrieved it.
“This is all pretty scary,” Mr. Ward-Brown said.
Glenn Thrush reported from Washington, Ian Austen from Ottawa and Ana Ley from New York.
Footage released by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol appeared to show a vehicle speeding and taking off into the air, prior to an explosion at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing.
There is no timeline for when the Rainbow Bridge will reopen, said Rose Brophy, the director of field operations for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in Buffalo during a news conference Wednesday evening. “We have to wait for the scene to be investigated and cleared and ensure the facility is safe for the traveling public and our officers," she said. "And once that is done we will assess that and reopen.”
By The New York Times
Police Commissioner Edward Caban, speaking at a news conference, assured New Yorkers there were no “credible or specific threats to New York City” or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Mayor Eric Adams said there was no “nexus” between the explosion and New York City.
A Customs and Border Protection officer received minor injuries during the crash and was quickly released after being treated at a hospital, Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said the driver was traveling at an “extraordinarily high rate of speed” before the car crashed into a median and flew over a fence that was eight feet high.
“Based on what we know at this moment, and again anything can change, there is no sign of terrorist activity with respects to this crash,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a news conference.
Investigators have determined that the incident was not terror-related and they found no explosive devices, according to a law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an open investigation. The driver was believed to be a casino player who frequently crossed the U.S.-Canadian border and had no criminal history, the official said. He and his passenger were thought to be Americans.
The governor said that it was too early to call the incident an “accident” since investigators have yet to determine if there was a motive behind the crash, but she stressed multiple times that there is no evidence that it was terrorism-related.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is in Niagara Falls and is about to brief reporters. Watch here.
On the night before Thanksgiving, the Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls would ordinarily be full of cars, creating a river of brake lights. But as the sun set, the only lights visible were those atop dozens of police vehicles. Officers to the bridge’s north, east and south directed traffic. The parking lot of nearby Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino, ordinarily full, was virtually empty.
After being briefed by the F.B.I., Senator Charles Schumer of New York said in a social media post that the identities and motives of the two people who died in the crash remained unclear. The authorities are still investigating, he wrote, and "law enforcement remains on heightened alert over Thanksgiving."
Darius Pridgen, the president of Buffalo's Common Council, said the crash had unnerved residents of the city, where 10 people were killed in a supermarket shooting in May 2022 and an enormous blizzard killed 31 people earlier this year. Government buildings shut down shortly after the explosion, and two weddings that were scheduled to happen at City Hall were moved to a local hotel.
“You’ve got a lot of folks here who have a type of PTSD that might not be as common in other areas if there was a car that exploded,” Pridgen said. “In the minds of most people, nobody closes government buildings for a tragic accident.”
Rickie Wilson, a 65-year-old tour guide, said he saw the speeding car leave the ground as it crashed. "It hit a concrete barrier and went up,” he said. “It came down and hit an inspection booth. Then there was a lot of black smoke, and then a fire.” He added: "I know I sound crazy, but the car was in the air. And not three or four feet in the air. It was like something you see in Hollywood.”
A witness interviewed by a local television station, WGRZ-TV, said he was walking down Main Street in Niagara Falls, N.Y., with his wife when a car sped past them, headed toward a border checkpoint at the Rainbow Bridge. The witness, Mike Guenther, said the driver lost control after swerving to avoid a car in front of him and appeared to strike a fence. Guenther heard a loud bang and saw flames. “And then all of a sudden, he went up in the air and then it was a ball of fire like 30 or 40 feet high,” he said. “I never saw anything like it.”
Heavy smoke filled the air as emergency responders swarmed the checkpoint, Guenther said. Parts of the car, which he believed was a Chrysler or a Bentley, were scattered across the scene in little pieces, he said.
The police presence around the Rainbow Bridge became an attraction of its own by late afternoon. A few tourists took pictures of patrol cars and military vehicles. Some posed for selfies. There was no traffic on the bridge, because the police had blocked the entrances. Officers declined to say when the investigation might be done.
In Niagara Falls, Ontario, three heavy snowplows were brought in to block the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge from Canada. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that several American and European tourists were now stranded in Niagara Falls, Ontario, after crossing the bridge on foot to view the falls from the Canadian side of the Niagara River.
The explosion on the Rainbow Bridge came on the day before Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel days of the year in the United States. Canadians already commemorated their version of the holiday on Oct. 9.
The car involved in the incident was speeding from the U.S. side toward Canada, a senior law enforcement official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an open investigation.
PJ Ward-Brown and his family were on board a trolley going through Niagara Falls State Park when a deadly vehicle explosion shut down the nearby Rainbow Bridge linking the United States and Canada.
Mr. Ward-Brown, of Asheboro, N.C., said mist from the falls and overcast skies obstructed his view of the bridge at the time of the explosion, and that when his family returned to their car, they found the parking lot — just south of the bridge — blocked off. A state trooper took his keys and drove the car to a spot where they could leave.
“This is all pretty scary,” said Mr. Ward-Brown, who brought his family to western New York for the Thanksgiving holiday. Although investigators have not officially released details about the crash, the episode prompted Mr. Ward-Brown to fear the worst. “You don’t want to think about 9/11 in a moment like this, but it’s hard,” he said.
With the region’s bridges into Canada closed, Mr. Ward-Brown said he would have to alter his holiday plans — he’d been expecting to cross the border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seeking surveillance video from around the time of the explosion canvassed nearby businesses, including Daredevil Records, a bar and music store on Niagara Street.
The store’s owner, Jessica Berry, 53, offered what camera footage she could provide. She helped the officers as she also opened for the evening, starting preparations for a Friendsgiving party that night.
Ms. Berry carried on business as usual, expecting the event to continue as planned. Having been airborne on a flight as 9/11 happened and at the scene of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing just before that attack, she said she’s no stranger to emergency events.
“We’re just going to continue on. It’s what we do,” she said.
Four bridges on the U.S.-Canadian border were shut down to traffic after the explosion on the Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York. In addition, cars and people going into the Buffalo and Niagara Falls airports will undergo “increased security checks, explosive detection, and increased screenings,” the governor’s office said.
Mayor Eric Adams said the New York City police were monitoring the situation at the Rainbow Bridge. Officers were already on heightened alert, because of the Thanksgiving holiday, and the public can expect to see officers posted at entry points to the city, he added.
A law enforcement official briefed on the incident said investigators believed the explosion resulted from the impact of the collision. The car went airborne and struck a cement pillar, according to the official. A suitcase was found near the car but did not contain explosives, the official added.
Glenn Thrush and Ashley Southall
Ex Audio And Visual Caution Spotlight Fittings A preliminary investigation has found that the car did not contain explosives, according to three law enforcement officials with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an open investigation.