At least two people dead after car crashes and explodes on bridge connecting U.S. to Canada

On the brink of Thanksgiving, authorities are piecing through details to deliver updates on a fatal crash that took place on the Rainbow Bridge connecting Canada to Niagara Falls, N.Y during one of the busiest travel days of the year.

According to CNN, a vehicle entering the bridge from the U.S. side drove at a high speed, hitting a median and going over an eight-foot fence, which resulted in a massive explosion killing two people inside of the vehicle and injuring a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. After initial speculation as to whether or not this could have been a terrorist situation, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon saying there are no signs of that being the case.

In one of her latest updates, Hochul says that it’s looking like the car may have been traveling from a nearby casino and that the identity of the driver has already been determined. “It’s a Western New York resident who was most likely in that vicinity prior to the extraordinarily high rate of speed that led to the crash into the median that sent the vehicle airborne,” she said.

Three land crossings between Canada and the U.S. have reopened following investigations. The Rainbow Bridge remains closed, as of now, while authorities wrap things up.