FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Customs and Protection vehicle stands beside a sign reading that the border is closed to non-essential traffic at the Canada-United States border crossing at the Thousand Islands Bridge, to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Lansdowne, Ontario, Canada September 28, 2020. REUTERS/Lars Hagberg/File Photo
Four U.S.-Canadian border crossings were blocked on Thursday due to a security scare caused by a fiery crash on the bridge connecting New York state and Ontario on Wednesday. U.S. police stated on Thursday that they were still looking into the incident.
The FBI and other federal agencies in the United States have concluded that the incident was not a terrorist act, and the Crash Management Unit of the Niagara Falls Police Department has assumed responsibility for the investigation.
“Due to the complexity of the incident, the investigation will take some time to complete,” Niagara Falls Police Department Superintendent John Faso said in a statement. “At this time the identity of those involved is pending positive identification and notification to next of kin.”
Video of the crash caught on security camera and posted to X by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency showed the car traveling from the U.S. side at high speed, then hitting an object and flying into the air before crashing to the ground and exploding in flames.
The driver and a passenger died. A CBP officer suffered minor injuries, and was treated at a hospital and released.
CNN reported the driver was a 56-year-old man traveling with his wife to attend a concert by the rock group KISS.