Cause of crash that killed NY couple at Niagara Falls border crossing still a mystery 8 months later
NIAGARA FALLS, NY — A police investigation into the crash and explosion in which two people in a luxury car died at a border crossing near Niagara Falls last year, the cause of the crash remains a mystery, authorities said.
The investigation into the Nov. 22, 2023, crash that killed Kurt and Monica Villani, both 53, “is considered closed at this time, but may be reopened if new evidence comes to light,” Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino said. told The Buffalo News this week.
According to Restaino, investigators were hampered by the fact that the event data recorder, also known as the black box, was destroyed in the crash.
The Villanis, from the Grand Island neighborhood of western New York, were in a 2022 Bentley Flying Spur that crashed and exploded near the Rainbow Bridge, which connects the cities of Niagara Falls, New York, and Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.
Security camera footage showed the Bentley speeding through an intersection, hitting a low median strip and leaping high into the air just east of the bridge’s main vehicle checkpoint. The car flew several feet and crashed into a row of checkpoints out of camera view.
The violent crash at the US-Canada border sparked fears of terrorism, but the FBI office in Buffalo said its investigation found no signs of a terrorist attack and turned the case over to local police.
Niagara Falls police investigated the crash but could not find answers to questions such as whether mechanical failure or driver error was the cause, the newspaper reported.
Calls from The Associated Press to Niagara Falls police were not returned. An official in Restaino’s office said the mayor could not be reached Wednesday.
Restaino told the Buffalo News that no one will ever know what caused the crash unless insurers find out.
Betsy Ertel, a spokesperson for Cincinnati Insurance Companies, which insured the Bentley, declined to discuss details of a claim “out of respect for the privacy of our policyholders.”
Bentley Motors spokesperson Erin Bronner told the Buffalo News last February that Bentley Motors was conducting its own investigation into the fatal crash.
Bronner declined to discuss details of the case on Wednesday.
Police said the Villanis were killed instantly in the crash and pronounced dead at the scene. Edmunds.com The website describes the 2022 Flying Spur as a powerful luxury car that can go from 0 to 60 miles (96 kilometers) per hour in four seconds. When the vehicle was new, it sold for $204,500 to $309,000, depending on what options were purchased, the website said.