23 November 2023 , 08:22
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The motorist who sparked fears of a terror attack when he crashed into the Canadian border in a fiery crash was a New York businessman, it has emerged.
The unnamed 56-year-old crashed at a Niagara Falls checkpoint yesterday, killing two people when the $300,000 Bentley burst into flames. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were both briefed on the incident at the Rainbow Bridge that left the man and his wife dead.
The car was seen flying over a fence before it came to a halt and was incinerated. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the car ended up “basically incinerated,” with nothing left but the engine. Debris was scattered across a dozen checkpoint booths.
READ MORE Rainbow Bridge blast: CCTV shows car speed at 100mph to border before flying through air
The Bentley can be seen flying through the air in footage (bno/x)Hochul described the footage of the incident - the car can be seen flying through the air - as "absolutely surreal." 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.
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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.’"
Photos and video taken by bystanders and posted on social media showed thick smoke, flames on the pavement and a singed security booth. A Customs and Border Protection worker in a checkpoint booth was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released, Hochul said.
Governor Hochul said the footage of the incident was 'surreal' (KathyHochul/X)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. Raffalow said in a message that police arrived soon after, urging visitors to disperse as they began cordoning off the street.
Police in Toronto increased patrols as a precaution while the stretched New York Police Department manning the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was also alerted. 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."
About 6,000 vehicles cross the Rainbow Bridge each day (KathyHochul/X)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.
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