Shocking Rainbow Bridge video shows car hurtling through air before it slammed into border crossing near Niagara Falls
Emma Powell
Published Sep 20, 2026
TERRIFYING footage shows a car flying through the air before it slammed into a US border crossing in a fiery crash that killed two people.
The wreck on New York's Rainbow Bridge leading to Canada took place at 11:27 am on Wednesday on one of the busiest travel days of the year in the US.
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New York Governor Kathy Hochul initially said that the FBI Terror Squad was called in to investigate the explosion on the bridge near Niagara Falls, a huge tourist attraction for the region.
Hours after the horrific wreck, Hochul said that there was "no sign of terrorist activity with respect to this crash."
"We're not aware of any threats in the area," she said.
New York Senator and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer echoed the message later on Wednesday night.
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“I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief that this horrible accident was not terror-related," Schumer said, per The Buffalo News.
The vehicle was traveling at an "extraordinarily high rate of speed" and flew over an eight-foot-tall fence, the governor said.
"When you see this video your jaw will drop," she added.
Several videos showed different angles of the crash.
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In one clip from a surveillance camera, a white car was seen accelerating around a corner toward the border.
It became airborne then crashed into the Customs and Border Patrol facility.
Debris from the vehicle could be seen flying through the air moments after the flames began.
“This vehicle basically incinerated; there is nothing left but the engine,” Hochul said.
Clouds of thick black smoke were billowing from the scene.
BENTLEY INVOLVED IN CRASH
The car that slammed into the border crossing was a relatively new Bentley, according to reports.
The two people inside the car, a couple, were believed to have been at the Seneca Niagara Casino earlier in the day.
The male victim, a 56-year-old businessman from New York, had plans to go to a KISS concert but went to the casino instead after the show was canceled, CNN reported.
The identities of the victims have not yet been released.
Hochul said the scene is sprawling as pieces of the car were scattered throughout the area in the aftermath of the crash and explosion.
A Customs and Border Patrol officer who was working in a booth at the time of the crash was treated and released at a nearby hospital out of an abundance of caution.
"The world is watching to find out what happened here," the governor said, noting that tensions have been high since the October 7 Hamas terror attack.
"We're going to make sure the public is safe before they go back on the Rainbow Bridge."
Other international borders between the United States and Canada were closed in response to the crash but have since reopened, though Amtrak service remains suspended in the area.
Contrary to earlier reports, the Buffalo airport is operating normally, Hochul said.
'LIKE SOMETHING YOU SEE IN HOLLYWOOD'
Witnesses described seeing the vehicle speeding before it flew into the air and hit a fence.
Rickie Wilson told The New York Times: “It hit a concrete barrier and went up.
“It came down and hit an inspection booth. Then there was a lot of black smoke, and then a fire. It looked like a bonfire.
“The car was in the air - and not three or four feet in the air. It was like something you see in Hollywood.”
Mike Guenther and his wife were walking near Rainbow Bridge in the moments before the crash.
He said he saw the vehicle swerve and hit a fence before becoming airborne.
"And then all of a sudden, he went up in the air and then it was a ball of fire like 30 or 40 feet high," Guenther told local CBS affiliate WGRZ.
"I never saw anything like it."
Guenther said the car was tearing so quickly across the road that it would have instantly killed anyone in its path.
Paul Edwards of England, and Gloria Fiorito of Hamilton, Ontario, told the Buffalo News that they were returning to Canada after shopping for gifts for their grandchildren in Pennsylvania ahead of Thanksgiving.
“We went on a little getaway for the night. We were looking for deals, which we found,” Fiorito said.
“We were really looking forward to being home today.”
Instead, the couple were stuck in the commotion that followed the crash and were unable to cross Rainbow Bridge.
They booked a hotel room and are staying overnight in Niagara Falls.
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They'll try on Thursday to return home. Still, they consider themselves lucky to not have been closer to the scene of the crash.
“You never know what could have happened,” Edwards said.
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