NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — A vehicle exploded at a checkpoint on the American side of a U.S.-Canada bridge in Niagara Falls Wednesday, leaving two people dead and prompting the closing of four border crossings in the area, authorities said.
What we know
A vehicle speeding toward a U.S.-Canada bridge from the American side crashed and exploded at a checkpoint in Niagara Falls on Wednesday, killing two people and prompting the closing of border crossings in the area, authorities said. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said there was “no indication of a terrorist attack.”
Much remained unclear about the crash, which investigators were working to understand. Hochul said it wasn't clear whether the driver was intentionally heading for the Rainbow Bridge across the Niagara River when the vehicle hit a median and flew into the air.
“Based on what we know at this moment,” she said, “there is no sign of terrorist activity in this crash.”
The FBI's Buffalo office said late Wednesday that it had concluded its investigation: “A search of the scene revealed no explosive materials, and no terrorism nexus was identified,” it said in a statement. “The matter has been turned over to the Niagara Falls Police Department as a traffic investigation.”
The two people who died were a husband and wife, according to a person briefed on the investigation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information about the people who were killed.
Matthew Miraglia, the FBI special agent in charge in Buffalo, said investigators so far had found no “derogatory” information on the driver.
“We’re scanning his social media. There’s nothing there," Miraglia said.
Officials said the car was traveling at tremendous speed as it approached the bridge at around 11:30 a.m. in downtown Niagara Falls in an area that includes several hotels and a casino.
There was no immediate information on the cause of the explosion, but it raised concerns on both sides of the border. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said officials were “taking this extraordinary seriously,” and the White House said President Joe Biden was “closely following developments.”
The two deceased people were in the vehicle, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
“This is obviously a very serious situation in Niagara Falls,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Parliament before he excused himself from Question Period in the House of Commons to be briefed further.
The blast happened on the U.S. side of the Rainbow Bridge, which connects the two countries across the Niagara River. Three other bridges between western New York and Ontario were quickly closed as a precaution, and the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport began security checks on all cars and told passengers to expect additional screenings.
The FBI’s field office in Buffalo said in a statement that it was investigating the blast, and investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also responding to the scene.
Aaron Ferguson, a spokesperson for the city of Niagara Falls, New York, said the vehicle was traveling at high speed from that city and crashed into the border station.
Jim Diodati, the mayor of Niagara Falls, Ontario, told The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that what happened appeared to be “an isolated incident.”
The identities of those in the car weren't released. Hochul said it wasn’t clear whether the driver — a western New York resident — was intentionally heading for the bridge, which crosses the Niagara River.
Local family traveling for Thanksgiving near bridge at the time
James Kennedy from Chardon said he was heading to Niagara Falls around the time of the explosion.
Kennedy said he and his family were traveling for Thanksgiving when they stopped at a park near Rainbow Bridge and immediately saw police vehicles speed by.
Upon learning every bridge to Canada was closed, his family regrouped at a restaurant.
"We knew stuff was going on because we could see police cars go by the windows, we could unmarked cars going by the windows," Kennedy said. "The waitress was talking to us; she said they would not let employees to the restaurant to work. They had trouble even shipping stuff from one restaurant to another for another restaurant to get food; they had the whole place locked down."
Due to the inability to travel, Kennedy said he and his family are staying at Kalahari in Sandusky instead.
Witness accounts
Security camera video released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed the car racing through an intersection, hitting a low median and vaulting into the air in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection area just east of the main vehicle checkpoint. The car flew for yards (meters), twisting, and then crashed out of the camera’s view.
Photos and videos taken by bystanders and posted on social media showed thick smoke, flames on the pavement, and a security booth that had been singed by flames.
Videos showed that the fire was in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection area just east of the main vehicle checkpoint.
Speaking to WGRZ-TV, Mike Guenther said he saw a vehicle speeding toward the crossing from the U.S. side of the border when it swerved to avoid another car, crashed into a fence and exploded.
“All of a sudden, he went up in the air, and then it was a ball of fire like 30 or 40 feet high,” Guenther told the station. “I never saw anything like it.”
Rickie Wilson, a Niagara Falls tour guide, was by his parked car nearby and turned around when he saw something in the air.
“I first thought it was an airplane. It looked like slow motion,” he said. “I said, ‘My God, it’s a car. It’s a vehicle, and it’s flying through the air.’”
From inside Niagara Falls State Park, Melissa Raffalow said she saw “a huge plume of black smoke” rise up over the border crossing, roughly 50 yards (45 meters) away from the popular tourist destination.
“We didn’t hear the explosion because the falls were too loud," Raffalow told The Associated Press in a message. Police arrived soon after, urging visitors to disperse as they began cordoning off the street.
Impacts
U.S. Attorney General Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul had been briefed on the situation, their offices said.
The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission reported that all four of its crossings — the others are Lewiston, Whirlpool and Peace Bridge — were closed.
Trudeau said that “additional measures” were being contemplated and activated at border crossings across Canada.
About the bridge
About 6,000 vehicles cross the Rainbow Bridge each day, according to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inventory. About 5% is truck traffic, according to the federal data.
The bridge, constructed in 1941, is just over 1,440 feet (439 meters) long and has a main span constructed of steel, according to the data.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
