REVEALED: Bentley driver was ‘alert and not disturbed’ as he desperately hit the brakes of a $300,000 supercar that flew through the air and exploded in deadly Niagara Falls crash
The driver of a Bentley that exploded at Rainbow Bridge earlier this week was ‘alert and not disturbed’ as he desperately hit the brakes, an expert has said.
Vincent A. Ettari, a civil engineer, told it The New York Times That he believes that Kurt Villani fiercely kicked off his Flying Spur from 2022 when this Wednesday exploded.
Villani and his wife Monica, both 53, were on their way to a KISS concert when the horror crash occurred on Wednesday.
Vittari, who serves as an expert witness in legal cases on road design, said a dark mist behind the car seen on surveillance footage indicates Villani had no damage at the time and was aware of what was happening to the vehicle. hand wash.
He told the outlet that, “At 100 miles per hour, everything is on the table,” while officials have not yet determined exactly what went wrong with the vehicle.
In this image from the surveillance video, a light-colored vehicle, top center, flies over a fence into the Rainbow Bridge customs plaza, Wednesday, November 22, 2023, in Niagara Falls, NY
Vincent A. Ettari, a civil engineer, pictured here, said he thinks Villani was frantically touching the brakes of his car when it exploded Wednesday
Kurt Villani, 53, was killed along with his wife on Wednesday when their Bentley lost control and crashed on Rainbow Bridge. It is shown in 2014
The couple came away with $300,000 Bentley at the time and had told friends that there was a problem with the accelerator pedal in the weeks before the accident. Bentley has not yet commented on the tragedy.
Niagara Falls Police Chief John Faso told local media on Friday that the investigation into what caused the car to race through an intersection, hit a low median and become airborne would continue.
According to Faso, investigators are investigating whether medical or mechanical issues may have contributed to the incident.
The car crashed into a row of security booths at the Rainbow Bridge and burst into flames.
The wreck caused widespread concern on both sides of the border, as videos and images of what appeared to be the aftermath of an explosion began circulating online and officials closed the bridge and three other nearby intersections.
Authorities investigated for hours before the FBI’s Buffalo office said it found no signs of a terrorist attack and turned the case over to local police as a traffic investigation.
Online business records and the company website show that the victims’ family owns Gui’s Lumber and seven Ace Hardware locations in New York, with his family operating the business since the mid-1980s.
The families and the lumber company said in a joint statement released Friday by the Erie County Sheriff’s Office: “We would like to express our sincere gratitude for all those prayers, condolences and well wishes.
“At this time we ask for privacy so we can begin the healing process.”
Law enforcement personnel block the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023, in Niagara Falls
The couple was driving a 2022 Flying Spur, similar to the vehicle in the photo above
Niagara Falls police have said the investigation into the crash will take time given its complexity.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has described it as “surreal” and said the vehicle was “basically burned” with nothing left but the engine and a pile of charred debris.
“You actually had to look at it and say, is this AI-generated?” Hochul, a Democrat, said at a news conference on Wednesday. ‘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.”
On Thursday, members of the Grand Island community paid tribute to the couple as a generous and thoughtful couple.
“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, wonderful people,” said resident Mary Meyer.
The massive explosion occurred when the car crashed at an immigration checkpoint
Workers block the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge border crossing between the U.S. and Canada, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023, in Niagara Falls, Ontario
Chuck Meyer added, “Without ever being asked, all they did was give money, and that’s the kind of people we’ve lost.”
Since the incident, it has emerged that Bentley has recalled a number of car models in 2021 after accelerators seized up, sparking safety fears.
The automaker issued a recall in the summer of 2021 for Continental GT and Flying Spur models built between 2018 and 2021.
The recall notice cited a manufacturing defect that caused accelerators to freeze while engaged.
‘Inconsistent installation of the fuse box and electrical harness can cause the lower A-pillar trim to protrude into the cabin, reducing the clearance to the accelerator pedal.
“If the accelerator pedal is fully depressed while driving and cannot return to the rest position, the vehicle will continue to accelerate even if the driver’s foot is removed from the accelerator pedal,” the release said.
Wednesday’s incident isn’t the first time a horrific crash has claimed the life of a member of the Villani family.
In July 1978, Villani’s grandmother, Lorraine, was killed when she was thrown from a boat traveling along the Niagara River at 3 a.m. Kurt M. and his wife Gail Villani were also on board at the time, but were unharmed.
The boat struck a bridge while Lorraine Villani was at the helm. The family later successfully sued the company that built the bridge, after it was found to be improperly lit, for $120,000 in 1984.
Online records show the Villani family owns a string of properties in the Grand Island area.