# Crash in Niagara Falls (Wed November 22, 2023) \[Rainbow Bridge car explosion\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [November 22, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546 "2023-11-22T19:23:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/41 "2023-11-22T21:12:41Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I have to admit, when I first saw the thread, my mind went to “rainbow bridge” as in the place pets cross when they die and go to heaven… Me too. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/42 "2023-11-22T21:14:45Z")
Well, I’m basing it off the fact it looks like a small Hollywood explosion. There’s about a gas tank’s worth of fire, and no pressure wave I can see. If there was a bomb, it was a small one meant to only kill the inhabitants of the car. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/43 "2023-11-22T21:44:18Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > I have no idea how they could have gone 0-100 between primary and secondary inspection. Unless someone has a speed gun (or happens to be someone the same speed), I wouldn’t put any stock in a witness statement giving a specific speed. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/44 "2023-11-22T22:14:10Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Yeah, this makes me skeptical of the one witness who says the car was going from US toward Canada, in opposition to the preliminary reports from more official sources. This witness also said the car was moving 100 mph, which just doesn’t seem possible there. News sources are now saying it was indeed going from the USA to Canada. The “100 mph” thing I dismissed right away. A pedestrian seeing a car pass right by travelling at high speed cannot discern the difference between 60 and 100 MPH if the normal speed there is 25, which it is. If you hit a concrete building at 60 that is more than enough speed to annihilate a car. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/45 "2023-11-22T22:20:10Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > He thinks it’s unlikely that it was terrorism as blowing up the car on the middle of the span would have been much more attractive as a target. An explosion the size we saw wouldn’t even char the guardrails on that bridge. You’d need a bomb the size of the Oklahoma City blast. Too much open space in all directions for the force to dissipate into. Still, cars don’t normally explode, Hollywood notwithstanding. There was _something_ in the car that went boom. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/46 "2023-11-22T22:21:34Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > News sources are now saying it was indeed going from the USA to Canada. Yeah, I’m seeing that now. New York governor Kathy Hochul is giving a press conference. Evidently the car was at a nearby casino before the incident, and at least one of the occupants was a local individual from western NY. So maybe someone really, really drunk? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/47 "2023-11-22T22:31:23Z")
The Rainbow Bridge crossing is still closed, but the other three nearby bridges have been reopened. There must be enough info that it wasn’t terrorism or at least is an isolated incident. And here’s a view of the car incoming and launching off a divider. It’s probably not going 100 mph, but it does appear to fly at least 100 feet before hitting the checkpoint. > ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/48 "2023-11-22T22:45:13Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > New York governor Kathy Hochul is giving a press conference. Evidently the car was at a nearby casino before the incident, and at least one of the occupants was a local individual from western NY. If they were drunk they sure got liquored up early. Niagara Falls, NY has a big casino right in the middle of town. > [@TroutMan](#): > > And here’s a view of the car incoming and launching off a divider. Jesus. At LEAST 100 feet - probably 150. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/49 "2023-11-22T22:49:48Z")
Maybe not 100 but that was well over freeway speeds. I’ll go with 80. Similar speed and jump. Dashcam on police car. > **[Raw Video: Car Launches Into Overpass](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSPjC1Ek7vA%2F)** > > State troopers in Ohio say an out-of-control car "disintegrated into many pieces" when it went airborne and smashed into a highway overpass pillar. The drive... ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/50 "2023-11-22T23:21:27Z")
Do we have any escaped convicts maybe trying to make it to Canada? I am glad it wasn’t terrorism. You know who will never shut up if it is. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/51 "2023-11-22T23:56:51Z")
It does not look like a terrorist attack to me. That was not an explosion. It was gas igniting when the car broke apart from the impact. The small building next to it still has the windows intact. No over pressure from an explosion. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/52 "2023-11-23T00:51:34Z")
Yep, it looks like someone tried to run customs, and paid the ultimate price for it. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/53 "2023-11-23T00:55:30Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > And here’s a view of the car incoming and launching off a divider. It’s probably not going 100 mph, but it does appear to fly at least 100 feet before hitting the checkpoint. Wow, that was like every episode of _CHiPs_. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/54 "2023-11-23T01:54:13Z")
CNN’s John Miller just said the car was a 2022 Bentley with a 12-cylinder engine that cost several hundred thousand dollars. I’m starting to lean toward “medical emergency” as the cause. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/55 "2023-11-23T02:00:03Z")
The way it went up…are they sure it wasn’t a Pinto? ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/56 "2023-11-23T03:05:40Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I’m starting to lean toward “medical emergency” as the cause. I’m leaning towards “having a few too many drinks in the casino before pulling a Tim Horton’s on the way from Buffalo to Toronto to see a KISS concert” For those unaware, Horton died in a car crash between Toronto and Buffalo while drunk. > **[Tim Horton](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Horton)** > > Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton (January 12, 1930 – February 21, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 24 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Buffalo Sabres. In 2017, Horton was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history. He died at age 44 following a single-vehicle crash in which drugs and alcohol were involved. > A successful businessman, Horton was the co-founder of th... ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/57 "2023-11-23T03:20:36Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > the car was a 2022 Bentley with a 12-cylinder engine that cost several hundred thousand dollars. Well, that kind of power under the hood explains how it got airborne hitting a ramp. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/58 "2023-11-23T03:38:00Z")
Interesting CBC article how quickly right-wing media and politicians in the US seized on a terror attack from Canada: > **[ANALYSIS | Right-wing U.S. media covered fiction as fact: A non-existent...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/border-incident-erroneous-reporting-1.7036978)** > > For a few hours, America's right-wing media treated fiction as fact, speculating the explosion at a Canada-U.S. border crossing near Niagara Falls was a terrorist attack from Canada — feeding calls for a northern border wall. > [@](#): > > Some U.S. media began describing it as a terrorist explosion, caused by a vehicle entering from Canada. > > Every element of that preceding sentence was dispelled within hours as flat-out wrong. > > There was no attack from Canada; the incident occurred entirely on U.S. soil; in fact, authorities don’t believe it was a terrorist attack at all. Didn’t stop from Ramaswamy, Keri Lake, and Ted Cruz from going on about the threat from the north. This article goes into the details of the crash: > **[N.Y. governor says 'no sign' of terrorism after car blast at Rainbow Bridge...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/rainbow-bridge-explosion-niagara-1.7036398)** > > There's no indication that a vehicle crash and explosion Wednesday that killed two people on the American side of the Rainbow Bridge, which connects Ontario and New York, is linked to terrorism, says New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. The... > [@](#): > > There’s no indication that a vehicle crash and explosion Wednesday that killed two people on the American side of the Rainbow Bridge — which connects Ontario and New York — is linked to terrorism, says New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. > > “Based on what we know at this moment, there is no sign of terrorist activity in this crash,” Hochul said at a news conference. > > She said an individual from Western New York was “involved” in a “crash,” but she did not clarify if the person was the driver. > … > _ **Hochul said a video shows how the vehicle basically “incinerated” and nothing was left but the engine.** _ > > “It’s going to take a lot of time for our federal law enforcement partners … to be able to piece together the real story.” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/59 "2023-11-23T03:48:48Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > That was not an explosion. It was gas igniting when the car broke apart from the impact. The small building next to it still has the windows intact. No over pressure from an explosion. An American academic agrees with you: > [@](#): > > One terrorism expert, a Canadian living in the U.S., told CBC News that, given events in the Middle East, she’s been worrying a lot about domestic incidents, and originally thought this might be one. > > But there was something in the images spreading online, said Mia Bloom, a professor at Georgia State University, that would have been unusual for a terrorist attack: the absence of a blast crater. > > “The hole is too small,” said Bloom in an interview Wednesday afternoon. > > Indeed, the vehicle was incinerated so violently that its pieces of debris had spread across 13 or 14 customs booths, said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. > > “There is nothing left,” Hochul said. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546/60 "2023-11-23T04:30:03Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Interesting CBC article how quickly right-wing media and politicians in the US seized on a terror attack from Canada: … [Snip.] On the predominantly right-wing message board that I occasionally look at, that was the consensus: that Middle Eastern terrorists had come from Canada, were directed to secondary inspection by US Customs, and panicked. One of them also noted that he heard from some source that an Iranian passport had been found at the scene. Another tried to connect the dots between Trudeau and Middle Easterners by showing a photo of Justin in an Arab costume and blackface. As the day’s events unfolded and more news was released, the die-hards stuck to that story; but many of the others started looking for anything to support their belief that it was Middle Eastern terrorists, who didn’t necessarily come from Canada. “The southern border is wide open, thanks to Biden, and they snuck across in the middle of a bunch of Latinos” was typical. NY Governor Hochul’s remarks about the car and people likely originating from downtown Niagara Falls NY were dismissed as coming from a leftist, and we all know they lie. Above all, once it was firmly established that the car and people did not come from Canada, the right-wingers were twisting their minds into knots trying to find some way to connect the event to Biden. It was rather amusing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-in-niagara-falls-wed-november-22-2023-rainbow-bridge-car-explosion/993546.md?page=4)