Two people are dead after a speeding vehicle went airborne and then burst into flames at a border checkpoint at the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday morning.
It happened just before 11:30 a.m. on the U.S. side of the crossing.
Surveillance footage, released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, shows the vehicle speeding down a road leading up to the border checkpoint. The vehicle then leaves the roadway, crosses over a median and appears to go airborne.
Officials have confirmed that two individuals inside the vehicle died as a result of the incident.
A U.S. border patrol officer also sustained minor injuries and was taken to hospital. They have since been treated and released.
“When you look at the scale of the scene, at how far the pieces of this vehicle exploded and scattered and the fact that there has been some damage to other vehicles, thank God there was nobody else injured,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters during a briefing on Wednesday afternoon. “It could have been much more cataclysmic.”
At this point it is not clear what lead up to the incident, however Hochul said that there is “no evidence at this time” of terrorist activity.
Sources did tell CTV News earlier in the day that Canadian government officials were initially operating under the assumption that it was terror-related.
For that reason officials conveyed to police forces that they should increase their presence at likely terror targets, the sources said.
“There is no evidence at this time that this was a terrorist activity and that’s what I want to make very clear to the public,” Hochul said Wednesday. “Just to calm everyone down.”
All Niagara border crossings were closed
Officials initially closed the Rainbow Bridge and three other Niagara border crossings following the explosion.
However, Ontario Provincial Police confirmed shortly after 5 p.m. that the Whirlpool Bridge, the Peace Bridge and the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge were reopening to traffic.
The Rainbow Bridge remains closed. The incident also led to flights being briefly grounded at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. During the news briefing, Gov. Hochul said the airport is open and “everything is normal.”
One witness, who spoke with NBC’s Buffalo affiliate earlier in the day, said that he saw the car heading toward the border at a high-rate of speed immediately prior to the explosion.
“It was flying. Over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h),” Mike Guenther said. “It hit the fence and flew up into the air, and we’ve just seen the fireball. It was covered with smoke everywhere. It was going towards Canada.”
Hochul did not say where the vehicle was coming from, though she did say that it was most likely in the vicinity prior to the crash and was being operated by a resident of western New York.
She said that at this point officials are still investigating whether the collision was an accident or whether it may have been “intentional” in some fashion.
“When you see this video your jaw will drop in disbelief at how this (the vehicle) went so high, over an eight feet high fence, it is rather extraordinary,” she said. “This is not an isolated late night occurrence. This is the busiest travel day of the year.”
Premier Doug Ford said earlier on Wednesday that he was briefed in the aftermath of the incident and that the Ontario Provincial Police were “actively engaged in assessing the situation.”
The OPP said in a subsequent statement at around 5 p.m. that there “was no known threat to public safety in Ontario.”
“We recognize that incidents like these can have an emotional impact. The OPP is committed to keeping our communities safe and secure,” the said.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
