Rainbow Bridge: US-Canada Deadly Crash Ruled Out as “Terror Attack”
The explosion at Rainbow Bridge (Source: Photo by Kyle Taylor)
A deadly car explosion took place at the Rainbow Bridge, which links the US and Canadian border, on Wednesday morning.
The explosion happened around 11:30 local time (16:30 GMT) and involved a man travelling with his wife in a Bently.
The car, which was said by Law enforcement to be travelling at “high speed,” hit a curb and guardrail, sending the vehicle airborne into a secondary screening area.
The man, found to be living in New York, had plans to attend a KISS concert in Canada.
After finding out the concert was cancelled, US investigators said the couple “went to a casino.”
It was reported the car was travelling from Canada to the US.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said, “The car travelled at a very high speed, hurtling over an 8ft (2.4m) fence.”
A terror Attack?
The explosion, which took place on the US holiday Thanksgiving Eve, led to closures and delays, as it prompted concerns of it being “terror attack.”
The four bridges between Canada and the United States were closed immediately after the incident, officials said.
Hochul told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday evening that the incident did not appear to be “terror related.”
“I want to be very, very clear to Americans and New Yorkers, at this time there is no indication of a terrorist attack,” she said.
US Attorney Trini Ross ensured the same at a separate news conference. She said, “Our preliminary investigation of the situation is that it was not terrorism-related, but we will continue to stay vigilant.
“We will continue to make sure that the information we have is passed onto the public.”
The crash led to significant damage and made it hard to identify those involved.
A photo of the crash shows little left of the car, which Hochul said “disintegrated.”
Authorities have since then found the car registered to an address in New York.
They are trying to determine if the person the car is registered to and the driver found at the scene are the same, but the condition of the remains has made it difficult.
“A border patrol employee in a booth also suffered minor injuries,” Hochul said.
Fortunately, others at the crossing were not injured by the explosion.
