Niagara crash culprit?
‘Mechanical failure’ eyed in fiery wreck
The deadly high-speed crash that sparked panic at a Niagara Falls border checkpoint this week is being investigated as possible mechanical failure — despite it being a new $300,000 Bentley, police confirmed to The Post on Friday.
Driver Kurt Villani and wife Monica, both 53, were killed instantly Wednesday when their 2022 Flying Spur literally took flight after hitting a barrier at around 100 mph, crashing down in a huge fireball on the New York side of Rainbow Bridge.
It sparked a heightened state of alert, with several other border crossings shuttered — until the FBI confirmed that night that it had found “no explosive material, and no terrorism nexus.”
Niagara Falls cops are now investigating it as a “traffic investigation” — and looking at whether the luxury British car simply malfunctioned.
An earlier recall by the luxury British brand involved fears accelerator pedals could get stuck, but Bentley said it did not apply to the Villanis’ car.
“We’re investigating every issue,” police Superintendent John Faso told The Post Friday when asked about possible mechanical failure.
Faso confirmed that the car — which Gov. Hochul said was “basically incinerated” in the crash — was a 2022 Flying Spur, which Bentley calls “the pinnacle of luxury,” a “unique combination of exhilarating performance and exquisite craftsmanship” capable of hitting 60 mph in just four seconds.
Erin Bronner, a spokeswoman for the American arm of Bentley Motors, told The New York Times that authorities have not yet contacted the automaker about the incident.
She maintained that the Villanis’ car would not be tied to a recall in 2021 over a risk that their accelerator pedals could become stuck, which only applied to older, right-hand drive models not sold in the US or Canada.
In a statement provided to The Post, Bronner said Bentley would work with investigators.
“We are saddened to hear about the incident on Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday. We will work with the authorities if we can help the investigation in any way. Our thoughts are with the family of the occupants of the car,” she said in the written statement.
Faso, meanwhile, said that investigators are “obviously” also looking into the possibility that Villani could have had a medical episode, leaving him to lose control with his foot on the accelerator.