Investigators have ruled out the possibility that the explosion at the Rainbow Bridge between New York State and the Canadian province of Ontario on Wednesday (November 23) was linked to terrorism.

Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation told reporters that the incident involved a Bentley that was traveling at high speed before it hit a curb and a guardrail. The collision sent the vehicle airborne and into the secondary screening area before it exploded.

The still-unidentified male driver of the car and his wife were pronounced dead at the scene, while a US border patrol employee inside a booth suffered minor injuries.

Some of the sources also told CNN that the couple, who were residents of New York state, had plans to attend a KISS concert in Canada. However, when they were told it was canceled, they decided to cross back to the US to go to a casino instead.

An eyewitness told local broadcaster WKBW that the way the car flew was "almost like a movie."

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(Photo: USMAN KHAN/AFP via Getty Images) Vehicles block the Rainbow Bridge border crossing into the US in Niagara Falls, Ontario, after a car exploded at a US-Canada checkpoint on November 22, 2023. US terrorism investigators deployed Wednesday after a car erupted into a fireball at a US-Canada checkpoint, triggering border closures on one of the busiest travel days in the American holiday calendar. Two people were killed in the blast, according to US media citing authorities, although their identities were not yet public.

US Authorities Rule Out Terrorism in Rainbow Bridge Crash

As the incident happened on the eve of Thanksgiving, New York Governor Kathy Hochul assured residents that the attack was not terror-related.

"I want to be very, very clear to Americans and New Yorkers, at this time there is no indication of a terrorist attack," she told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday night.

US Attorney Trini Ross also stressed the same conclusion at a separate news conference, but also said they would "continue to stay vigilant."

"We will continue to make sure that the information we have is passed onto the public," Ross added.

The FBI also concluded its investigation, saying that the incident did not have a terrorist motive.

"A search of the scene revealed no explosive materials, and no terrorism nexus was identified," the agency said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. "The matter has been turned over to the Niagara Falls Police Department as a traffic investigation."

Rainbow Bridge remains closed as investigations continue, but the other crossings in the US-Canada border between Niagara Falls, New York, and Niagara Falls, Ontario - the Peace, Whirlpool, and Lewiston-Queenston bridges - have been reopened.

Meanwhile, Canadian government sources also told the CBC that answers about what happened might take some time as the vehicle involved was badly burned.

Security in other Canadian border crossings has been heightened in the aftermath of the Rainbow Bridge incident.

Related Article: Vehicle Explodes at Rainbow Bridge, Closes US-Canada Border