HORRIFIED witnesses have described the moment a vehicle raced into a checkpoint at the US-Canada border and burst into flames.
The FBI Terror Squad is investigating the explosion on Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls that sparked a massive fire and left two passengers dead.
Reuters
In a press conference, New York Governor Kathy Hochul described the crash as “horrific,” but confidently said there was no sign of a terrorist attack.
“We’re not aware of any threats in the area,” Hochul said while urging onlookers to not jump to conclusions.
Authorities have identified the registered owner of the vehicle, but they are still working to ID the passengers, law enforcement sources told CNN.
The sources say they found that the car was driving from a casino in New York when it slammed into the border.
They’re currently working to determine whether there were any explosives in the car, and are increasing patrols throughout the area.
Sources close to the matter said initial investigations found the explosion was caused by reckless driving, but this has yet to be confirmed, Reuters reported.
Mike Guenther, a visitor from Ontario, was walking near the bridge when he saw the speeding vehicle rush toward the border and swerve before it hit a fence.
The tourist said he watched the car “flying up in the air” before it erupted into a fireball that left smoke everywhere, he told NBC affiliate WGRZ.
Just 10 minutes later, law enforcement had flooded the scene, according to the witness.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. The fire was so high up in the air,” Guenther said.
“My only concern was I hope nobody else got hurt.”
Guenther said the car, which looked like a Chrysler 300, was tearing so quickly across the road that it would have instantly killed anyone in its path.
Rickie Wilson, another witness who saw the crash, described it as something that would come out of a movie.
“It hit a concrete barrier and went up,” he told the New York Times.
“It came down and hit an inspection booth. Then there was a lot of black smoke, and then a fire.
“I know I sound crazy, but the car was in the air.
“And not three of four feet in the air. It was like something you see in Hollywood.”
The city of Niagara Falls initially said the car was trying to enter the US from Canada.
The crash injured a border officer and spurred crews to evacuate all government buildings.
All bridges to the area have been closed.
Investigators did not find a device in the vehicle after an initial sweep, sources told the outlet.
It’s unclear if an explosive device was ever inside the car.
CRASH HORROR
Hochul initially said in a statement that State Police were working with an FBI Terrorism Task Force to investigate the incident.
“I have been briefed on the situation that occurred at the Rainbow Bridge in Buffalo,” the statement read.
“At my direction, the New York State Police is actively working with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force to monitor all points of entry to New York.”
Witnesses who were inside the US Customs and Immigration building said they were asked to leave their vehicles so they could be searched.
“When the explosion happened, we heard it like a loud boom,” one person told the Daily Mail.
The witness said he didn’t believe the noise was serious until people started yelling about an exploding car.
“We all went to watch. The smoke got thicker and thicker and thicker,” he said.
Social media posts indicated that cars in the surrounding area were stopped and checked for explosives.
“The FBI Buffalo Field Office is investigating a vehicle explosion at the Rainbow Bridge, a border crossing between the US and Canada in Niagara Falls,” the FBI field office said in a statement.
“The FBI is coordinating with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in this investigation.
“As this situation is very fluid, that’s all we can say at this time,” the bureau said.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters on Wednesday that his team is taking the incident very seriously.
“This is obviously a very serious situation,“ LeBlanc said.
“We’re taking this circumstance very seriously, but to speculate on the origin of this particular circumstance – the reasons why this may have happened – until we have more accurate information is simply not responsible.”
The three other bridges that connect the US and Canada in western New York – Peace Bridge, Rainbow, and Lewiston-Queenston – closed while officials investigated the crash.
