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The Thanksgiving Eve incident happened early Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 22 on the Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls, New York.
Niagara Falls Police say Kurt Villani, and his wife, Monica Villani, both age 53, died in the vehicle explosion which led to a federal investigation.
The two were residents of Grand Island, New York, located about 10 miles southeast of Niagara Falls.
Authorities say the couple had originally been headed to a concert in Canada believed to be a Kiss show that was canceled after a member of the band became ill.
The explosion happened when the car, a Bentley, accelerated to around 80 miles per hour before crashing into a curb and barrier and bursting into flames as it was heading to a secondary checkpoint site after being referred there from an initial checkpoint, according to video from the scene released by the US Customs and Border Patrol.
The Bentley can be seen in the video at the very top of the screen as other vehicles pass the inspection points in the center of the screen.
The FBI ruled out terrorism as the cause and said no explosives were found at the scene.
Niagara Falls Police said the investigation of the incident is ongoing.
The bridge connects the cities of Niagara Falls, NY, and Niagara Falls, Ontario.
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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