Vehicle explosion at the US side of the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.

J

jimintoronto

Well-known Member
CBC Toronto link. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/rainbow-bridge-explosion-niagara-1.7036398

The Ontario Provincial Police, Niagara Regional Police, plus the Canadian Border Services Agency, and the RCMP are all involved in this ongoing investigation. In the USA, the FBI and NY State Police are investigating the explosion which happened at one of the CBP inspection booths. JimB.
 

Apparently they believe this was not an accident.

I'm not ready to say it was terrorism. I'd rather know for sure but some already think so.
 
I read the article but found it gave very few details. So now the rumours and the guesses will be flying around. I wish the news people waited until they had more detail about certain things rather than fighting to get the news out before all their competitors.
 
Packerjohn said:
I read the article but found it gave very few details. So now the rumours and the guesses will be flying around. I wish the news people waited until they had more detail about certain things rather than fighting to get the news out before all their competitors.
Click to expand...
OK John. Details so far. A vehicle at the CBP inspection booth on the Rainbow Bridge exploded this afternoon at around 1 PM. FBI Buffalo area office is leading the investigation. OPP and Niagara Regional Police have shut down ALL of the bridges that cross the Niagara river from Ontario into New York State. The Prime Minister's office has been briefed by US Homeland Security and the Public Safety Minister Bill Blair has stated that "At this time the Canadian Government is working closely with the American Government ". ALL traffic trying to cross the Niagara area bridges is being turned around on both sides of the border. I got all of that information by reading open sources in both Canada and the USA. Your comments are not helpful. Time now is 2.41 PM est. JimB.
 
jimintoronto said:
Breaking news. The FBI has reported that a vehicle has exploded at the US side of the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls New York today. The bridges that cross the Niagara River from Ontario to New York are all closed at this time. Both American and Canadian Police are investigating this situation. Terror attack fears after car explosion at Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls leaves two dead at US border

JimB.
Click to expand...
Watching just now on YouTube breaking news. Had our second honeymoon in Niagara Falls...camping on Lundy Lane grounds...OMG!

UPDATE: So far and from various news sources on YouTube. It doesn't seem to be terrorist related. However, two people have died, one injured. One mention which is very strange, the vehicle in question seems to be devoid of a licence plate... Which makes this a twist in the story.

I believe the truth will come out eventually. Just have to wait, right?
 
Last edited:
There appears to be at least two conflicting descriptions of what happened, or maybe they somehow both work together.
One news article said that they found explosives in the vehicle and they believe that it was some kind of a terrorist attack. It hit the guard station at the bridge, but on the wrong side for going north to Canada.

The other description is from eyewitnesses who said they saw a Bentley car speeding at over 100+ mph down Main Street, hit a barricade or bridge of some kind, flew about 30 feet into the air, in flames, and crashed down into the guard station. The pictures show a blazing inferno at the scene when it happened.

If it was a terrorist attack, maybe everything went as planned, except for crashing the vehicle into the barricade before hitting the guard station. Here is a picture showing the travel of the Bentley as it went into the Rainbow bridge area.

IMG_5629.jpeg
 
Even if the vehicle is burned/damaged, the investigators will be looking at the VIN details, the vehicle plates and the bridge video recordings to start the identification process. JimB.
 
Happyflowerlady, you are right that there are two different reports of which way the car was going.

There is a lot of confusion when something like this happens. It's chaos. Btw, I also heard the car is a Bentley if anyone cares. :rolleyes:
 
The news I read was pretty clear that the car came from Canada. Perhaps they got it wrong in the rush to publish?

The City of Niagara Falls said the incident involved a vehicle attempting to enter the U.S., WIVB reported.
Click to expand...
 
The story is changing.

There are reports now that the car was on the US side and was seen parked at a 7-11 before heading to the bridge to cross into Canada at a very high rate of speed.

They are also saying that there may be no explosives and it may not be terror related. AND this may still not be right.

Immediately after something like this happens the details are not clear and that's why I like to wait a bit.
 
There's a video out now showing the car going airborne before crash. The biggest common "fact" seems to be 'high rate of speed' Along with accelerating as got closer to checkpoint.
 
Gov. Hochul is scheduled to give an update soon.

The car may be stolen.

The FBI director has testified to Congress about increased terror threats twice in the last month.
 
Conflicting. Witness said it looked like a Chrysler 300. Surveillance video is said to have shown the vehicle at a Casino before the incident. Law enforcement has determined the owner of the vehicle (not named) but have not confirmed they were the driver of the vehicle.

The reasons why are still open to conjecture. Hasn't been mentioned but I wonder if the driver was experiencing some sort of medical emergency, unconscious or something? ... but the fireball doesn't quite fit that conjecture.
 
Packerjohn said:
I read the article but found it gave very few details. So now the rumours and the guesses will be flying around. I wish the news people waited until they had more detail about certain things rather than fighting to get the news out before all their competitors.
Click to expand...
You are right, the media is more concerned with getting it fast than right.
Plus, they need to have the political twist on it as well.
All media outlets need to be questioned for accuracy these days.
 
Marie5656 said:
Reports indicate the bridge has been reopened to traffic
Click to expand...
The Rainbow Bridge remains closed due to the ongoing investigation.
The Queenston/Lewiston Bridge, Whirlpool/Rapids Bridge & the Peace Bridge have now been reopened. They too were initially closed for several hours.
 
Happyflowerlady said:
The other description is from eyewitnesses who said they saw a Bentley car speeding at over 100+ mph down Main Street, hit a barricade or bridge of some kind, flew about 30 feet into the air, in flames, and crashed down into the guard station. The pictures show a blazing inferno at the scene when it happened.
Click to expand...
Assuming the small map in post #9, showing a Wyndham Garden Niagara Hotel is the one in Ontario. And that the red-marked track is therefore in Ontario:

Small detail, I'm sure. But the speeding car would have been in Canada — and if the eyewitnesses were Canadian, that estimated figure might more accurately be "over 100km/hour".
 

Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top