Current:Home > NewsVictims in Niagara Falls border bridge crash identified as Western New York couple-InfoLens
Victims in Niagara Falls border bridge crash identified as Western New York couple
View Date:2024-12-23 18:52:15
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — The two people killed when their car crashed into a border checkpoint in Niagara Falls and exploded in a fiery wreck were identified Friday as a western New York husband and wife whose family owns a lumber business and several hardware stores in the Buffalo area.
The Niagara Falls Police Department named the couple as Kurt P. Villani and Monica Villani, both 53, of Grand Island, New York, a leafy Buffalo suburb close to the falls.
Online business records indicate the victims’ family owns Gui’s Lumber and seven Ace Hardware locations in western New York. A man who answered the phone Friday at a number listed for the business declined to comment.
Authorities have not yet released details on what exactly led to the couple’s crash Wednesday at the Rainbow Bridge, where their car raced through an intersection, hit a low median and was launched through the air before slamming into a row of security booths and bursting into flames.
The wreck prompted widespread concern on both sides of the border, as video and images of what appeared to be the aftermath of an explosion began to circulate online and officials closed the bridge and three other crossings in the area. Authorities investigated for several hours before the FBI’s Buffalo office said it found no signs the incident was a terror attack and turned the case over to local police as a traffic investigation.
The Niagara Falls Police Department has said the investigation will take time to complete given the complexity of the crash. The agency issued a statement Friday that named the victims but contained no other details.
“The City of Niagara Falls would like to extend our sincere condolences to the families as they deal with this tragedy,” the statement read.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has described the crash 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?” Hochul, a Democrat, said 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.”
The safety measures tied up traffic at a nearby airport in Buffalo and elsewhere on one of the busiest U.S. travel days of the year, ahead of the American Thanksgiving holiday. The bridges were later reopened.
About 6,000 vehicles cross the Rainbow Bridge each day, according to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inventory. The short, steel bridge offers scenic views of the falls.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Reds honor Pete Rose with a 14-hour visitation at Great American Ball Park
- Kendall Jenner Explains What Led to Corey Gamble Feud
- Police: Ghost guns and 3D printers for making them found at New York City day care
- Remains of Suzanne Morphew found 3 years after her disappearance
- Are Dancing with the Stars’ Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber Living Together? She Says…
- The Turkish government withdraws from a film festival after a documentary was reinstated
- Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers opens up about multiple strokes: 'I couldn't speak'
- Las Vegas Culinary Union strike vote: Hospitality workers gear up to walk out
- Arkansas governor unveils $102 million plan to update state employee pay plan
- Boyfriend of missing mother arrested in connection with her 2015 disappearance
Ranking
- 'Serial swatter': 18-year-old pleads guilty to making nearly 400 bomb threats, mass shooting calls
- Blue Beetle tells story of Latino superhero and his family in first-of-its-kind live action film
- Israel reopens the main Gaza crossing for Palestinian laborers and tensions ease
- Watch Live: Top House Republicans outline basis for Biden impeachment inquiry in first hearing
- Engines on 1.4 million Honda vehicles might fail, so US regulators open an investigation
- Taylor Swift has power to swing the presidential election. What if nothing else matters?
- $10,000 bill sells for nearly half a million dollars at Texas auction — and 1899 coin sells for almost as much
- 3 people die in a crash involving 4 vehicles in New Hampshire
Recommendation
-
Social media star squirrel euthanized after being taken from home tests negative for rabies
-
70,000 Armenians, half of disputed enclave's population, have now fled
-
Japanese scientists race to create human eggs and sperm in the lab
-
How Kim Kardashian Weaponized Kourtney Kardashian’s Kids During Explosive Fight
-
'Squid Game' creator lost '8 or 9' teeth making Season 1, explains Season 2 twist
-
2 lawsuits blame utility for eastern Washington fire that killed man and burned hundreds of homes
-
The Masked Singer Reveals the Rubber Ducky's Identity as This Comedian
-
Renting vs. buying a house: The good option for your wallet got even better this year