Friends of the New York couple who died when their $300,000 Bentley became a giant fireball in a horrific crash on Thanksgiving night are being mourned by friends as “generous, kind and always willing to help.”
The unnamed couple died immediately after their car was thrown 40 feet through the air after hitting a central reservation at high speed, before disintegrating on impact. The crash sparked rumors of terrorist involvement, which has been ruled out by New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
Meanwhile, the couple’s friends, who gathered for an event at the Niagara Sailing Club on Thanksgiving, mourned the couple. ‘People were just incredibly shocked. It’s just not only such a younger couple, but it’s so entrenched and influential in this community,” club treasurer Scott Henderson said. WGRZ.
A neighbor told the station that he came home from work on Wednesday and saw cars parked in front of the victim’s home. He assumed they were having a party.
“I thought, ‘Oh, they have Christmas or Thanksgiving early, and that’s really nice.’ And about an hour later I heard the news and I was like, oh my God,” Chuck Meyer said.
“It’s really a shock and devastation, and it’s just heartbreaking, it really is. They were so loved. They were so generous and kind and always willing to help.” added his wife Mary.
The remains of the $300,000 Bentley that crashed near the US-Canada border crossing in Niagara Falls on Wednesday
The giant fire plume is seen in the aftermath of the crash that killed a 56-year-old businessman and his wife
The crash caused a wave of panic and led to the closure of several border crossings
“You know, just plowing everyone’s driveway for love, you know what I mean? Just always willing to help and lend a hand. Always. always always. They were just really friendly and wonderful people,” she continued.
Chuck said the couple regularly gave to groups such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Niagara Falls and in Western New York’s Northtowns.
Scott Henderson of the Niagara Falls Sailing Club said the victims’ family had been extremely generous in helping rebuild the building after a 2021 fire.
“Without these people we would never, ever have been able to rebuild this wonderful club to this extent,” he said.
In 2014, the family business was spotlighted by local media thanks to their charitable efforts around Thanksgiving, during which they donated 250 turkeys to a local food bank.
The investigation into the crash has been turned over by the FBI to Niagara Falls police because there is no indication of terrorism.
NFPD Chief John Faso said WIVB in an interview that the investigation will take ‘a long time’.
“This will be a long investigation, just because of the complexity of the scene and everything surrounding it. It was a big scene, there was a lot of destruction and a lot to get through. So that is now the challenge for the crash management unit.’
“They’re going to take their time and make sure they do everything right and cover every base. So I’m not going to pressure them to rush into anything; as long as it lasts, it will last.”
Late Thursday evening, Governor Hochul said announced that the bridge reopened to traffic.
The crash led to the closure of the Rainbow Bridge and three other bridges connecting western New York and Ontario as federal officials swarmed the area in an attempt to figure out what led to the high-speed wreck.
Both US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received briefings.
A Bentley Flying Spur, as driven by the businessman and his wife on Wednesday
Hours later, officials sought to allay concerns about what is one of the busiest travel days of the year.
“Based on what we know at this time,” Hochul, a Democrat, said at a news conference, “there is no sign of terrorist activity in this crash.”
Hochul said the car was “basically burned” with nothing left but the engine and a scattering of charred debris, describing a video of the crash as “surreal.”
“You actually had to look at it and say, is this AI-generated?” she said at a press conference. ‘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.”
Later Wednesday evening, New York Senator Chuck Schumer said investigators had found “no connection to any terrorist or criminal group.” He added that there was no evidence that chemicals or substances in explosives were used during the investigation of the crime scene.
According to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inventory, approximately 6,000 vehicles cross the Rainbow Bridge every day. The short, steel bridge offers scenic views of the falls.
Witness Mike Guenther told Buffalo television station WGRZ-TV that he was walking with his wife near the bridge when the car, which was traveling at a high rate of speed, struck a fence at the intersection and was catapulted into the air before exploding.
“He was flying at over 100 miles per hour,” said Guenther, who was visiting from Kitchener, Ontario. He said the vehicle, which he described as a luxury sedan, went out of control before crashing.
“It was a fireball, nine to forty feet high, I’ve never seen anything like that,” Guenther said.
The scene in the aftermath of the crash
Trucks are lined up to block the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge
Another witness told local news channel WKBW that the crash site looked more like a movie scene.
Rickie Wilson told the station he thought the white luxury sedan was a plan as he watched it spin in the air before returning to Earth and hitting something before landing.
While Guenther described seeing “car parts in pieces everywhere” after the horror impact. “He swerved as he drove down this road here, fishtailing because he was going so fast,” he said.
“When he hit the fence there was a fire at the time, but when he went back up he must have hit the building and there was a big noise and he just shot up into the air and you couldn’t see anything but smoke.
‘We heard a big bang. I said there’s no way that guy can stop, he’s just going too fast.
‘Suddenly it went up into the air and then it was a fireball 30 to 40 feet high, I’ve never seen anything like that. It was absolutely incredible.’
Guenther said fire trucks were first on the scene and within 10 minutes there were “police everywhere.”
“We could see the fireball – that’s all we could see, it was just smoke everywhere,” he added. “I don’t think that person is going to survive, his car parts were everywhere.”
He described the car as “flying” at a speed of more than 100 miles per hour. “We could hardly see it was happening so fast,” he said.
“There was a car in front of him, he swerved around it, it looked like he hit the fence and the fire started.”