Rainbow Bridge crash: Niagara Falls police warn against misinformation

The deadly crash at a border crossing between the US and Canada involved New York couple Kurt and Monica Villani, who had planned to attend a Kiss concert in Toronto on Wednesday night.

Law enforcement sources told CNN that the couple, who lived in the small town of Grand Island in western New York, were speeding in their Bentley when the car rammed into the Rainbow Bridge crossing, killing them both.

The blast sparked fears of a terrorist attack and prompted Canadian and US officials to briefly close all border bridges between the two nations and ground planes at nearby Buffalo Airport.

Hours later, the FBI Buffalo office and New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that there were no signs that the incident was terror-related.

Instead, the investigation so far indicates that the couple were planning to cross the border to go to a Kiss concert in Toronto that night. But the concert was cancelled earlier in the day due to frontman Paul Stanley becoming ill with the flu.

Wednesday, 22 November:

• The band KISS cancelled its Toronto show due to frontman Paul Stanley catching the flu
• A New York couple, who had been planning on going to the concert, decide to go to a casino
• The couple left the casino, and headed toward the bridge
• 11.50am: The Rainbow Bridge was closed due to a “traffic event”
• Gov Kathy Hochul announces “there is no indication of a terrorist attack”
• The FBI also said “no terrorism nexus was identified”

Friday, 24 November:

• Police identify the couple as Kurt P Villani and Monica Villani from Grand Island New York
• They were survived by their two children
• Investigators employ the use of 3D scanners to help create a “digital crash scene”

Saturday and Sunday 25/26 November:

• Police investigations continue

The Niagara Region’s chief of police has warned the community about the dangers of misinformation, following the crash at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing on Wednesday.

Bryan MacCulloch said that although the incident was quickly confirmed to be non-terrorist related, speculation in the mainstream media and online had caused “significant and unnecessary anxiety” within the local community.

Several outlets including Fox News were forced to walk back on parts of their coverage, after previously suggesting that the attack was linked to terrorism.

Addressing the Niagara Region Police Services Board on Thursday, Mr MacCulloch said: “We saw an immense amount of misinformation and speculation on both mainstream and social media platforms, which created significant and unnecessary anxiety in the community.

“I think what we saw on Wednesday was really the speed at which misinformation [spreads] in today’s environment of social media and how quickly it can spiral.

Mr MacCulloch did not refer to any specific piece of msinformation or outlet, but said there were claims of an attack, that the car had come from Canada and that the vehicle was filled with explosives.

“None of that information was accurate. None of it was corroborated. Yet that didn’t stop individuals, and in some cases media outlets, from putting that information out,” he said.

“We have four international bridge crossings here in the Niagara Region that lead into the United States and [I think] their closing [out of] an abundance of caution added to that fear and anxiety that there was the potential for another attack when in fact, there wasn’t an original attack.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that when she first saw footage of the crash which killed two people, she wondered whether it could have been AI generated – such was its shocking nature.

Ms Hochul quickly ruled out that the incident was terrorist-related, but described it as “surreal” and said the vehicle was “basically incinerated” with nothing left but the engine and a scattering of charred debris.

“You actually had to look at it and say, was this generated by AI?” she told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.

“Because it was so surreal to see. How high in the air this vehicle went, and then the crash, and the explosion, and the fire.”

Grand Island residents Kurt P Villani and Monica Villani were identified on Friday as the victims of the crash.

Online records revealed that the family owns Gui’s Lumber, a business that spans locations across western New York.

“We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all that extended prayers, condolences and well wishes,” the families and the lumber company said in a joint statement released by the Erie County Sheriff’s Office on Friday. “At this point, we are requesting privacy so we may begin the process of healing.”

Though police investigations continued throughout the weekend, the cause of the Rainbow Bridge blast remains something of a mystery.

Some previously speculated that the driver of the vehicle may have suffered from a medical emergency, though investigators are now exploring whether a mechanical failure in the car could be to blame.

Robert Restaino, the mayor of Niagara Falls, told The New York Times that the Bentley the couple was driving in was an older model and may have experienced some sort of mechanical glitch that caused it to suddenly accelerate as it approached the border checkpoint.

However, a spokesperson for the American arm of Bentley Motors told the paper that the automaker was yet to hear from investigators about the incident.

Automotive analyst Laura Fix told NBC-affiliate-WGRZ that acceleration data recovered from the vehicle’s Event Data Recorder (EDR) may determine the cause of the crash.

“They could actually see that the driver applied the accelerator pedal, not unintentionally, then it could have been [possibly] a medical issue,” Ms Fix said.

At 11.50am ET, the Rainbow Bridge was closed due to a “traffic event”, according to an incident alert from the Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition.

Witness Mike Guenther told NBC affiliate WGRZ-TV that he had been walking on the bridge when he saw a speeding car approach the border checkpoint, hit a fence and go airborne before exploding.

Another witness told reporters that he had seen the vehicle catch fire, before seeing black smoke and flames.

Ambulances arrived soon afterward to find the vehicle completely burned out. Two individuals travelling in the car died, officials said.

The couple were named by police on Friday as Kurt P Villani and Monica Villani, though devastated friends, neighbours and loved ones in the upstate New York community of Grand Island knew the victims’ identities before they were officially confirmed.