A frightening explosion at the U.S.-Canada bridge in Niagara Falls on Wednesday is not believed by officials to be an act of terrorism. Two people died and several border crossings were shut down for hours as the investigation commenced.

A vehicle sped to the crossing from the American side and went airborne before the explosion. Investigators are unsure of what caused the wreck but declared no indications were found of a terror attack.

According to the FBI’s Buffalo office, which reported it concluded its investigation, “a search of the scene revealed no explosive materials, and no terrorism nexus was identified.”

Officials said it is now a traffic investigation. 

On the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, many were initially concerned that something more insidious than an automobile accident occurred at the Rainbow Bridge. Both U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were briefed on the incident. 

🚨 BREAKING PHOTOS from car explosion at the checkpoint on the New York-Canada border near Niagara Falls pic.twitter.com/1oEuAaYBuK

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 22, 2023

Erie County Sheriff John Garcia dramatically told a news conference, “we can go on with our lives.

Security footage showed a car racing toward the checkpoint, hitting a low median and becoming airborne in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection area. The car went several yards twisting in the air before landing out of camera range.

One witness, Niagara Falls tour guide Rickie Wilson, initially thought it was something else. “I first thought it was an airplane. It looked like slow motion,” he recalled. “I said, ‘My God, it’s a car.’”

The identities of the people in the car were not released, but FBI investigators said early on they have not found “derogatory” information on the driver. Special Agent Matthew Miraglia said his social media is being scanned, but “there’s nothing there.”

The driver was identified as a resident of western New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul said it was not immediately clear whether the car was intentionally traveling at high speed toward the bridge.

She reported that the vehicle was “basically incinerated” with nothing surviving but the engine. Debris was strewn across at least a dozen checkpoint booths, and investigators believe it will take some time to put together exactly what happened on the day before Thanksgiving.