The mystery of why a $300,000 Bentley crashed at the US-Canada border crossing at 100 mph and exploded, killing a couple inside, may never be solved as police close the case.
Kurt and Monica Villani, both 53, were incinerated in the massive fireball on Niagara Falls’ Rainbow Bridge on Nov. 22 while on their way to a KISS rock concert.
The couple from the Grand Island community in western New York were traveling in a 2022 Bentley Flying Spur, which can go from zero to 60 mph in four seconds.
Security camera video showed the Bentley traveling through an intersection, hitting a low median and flying into the air just east of the bridge’s main vehicle checkpoint.
Security camera video showed the Bentley traveling through an intersection, hitting a low beam and becoming airborne just east of the bridge’s main vehicle checkpoint.
The car flew several meters and crashed into a row of checkpoints out of the camera’s field of view, then exploded in a huge fireball that melted the car.
The violent crash on the US-Canada border sparked fears of terrorism, but the FBI’s Buffalo office said its investigation found no signs of a terrorist attack and handed the case over to local police.
Eight months later, police remain stumped and the case “is considered closed at this point, but may be reopened if any new evidence emerges,” Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino told The Buffalo News.
Restaino said investigators were hampered by the fact that the car’s event data recorder, or black box, was destroyed in the crash.
He said no one will ever know what caused the accident unless the insurers find out.
Niagara Falls police investigated the crash without finding answers to questions such as whether the cause was mechanical failure, illness or driver error.
It is also unclear whether the black box sent any information about the sudden acceleration to Bentley or whether the automaker’s own investigation found anything.
Kurt Villani, 53, died with his wife on Wednesday when their Bentley went out of control and crashed on the Rainbow Bridge. He appears in 2014
The Bentley heads toward the bridge Wednesday morning. Kurt and Monica Villani, both 53, were inside.
Bentley Motors spokeswoman Erin Bronner told the Buffalo News last February that Bentley Motors was conducting an investigation into the fatal crash.
Bronner declined to discuss any details of the case on Wednesday.
Betsy Ertel, a spokeswoman for Cincinnati Insurance Companies, which insured the Bentley, declined to discuss the details of any claim “out of respect for the privacy of our policyholders.”
Police said the Villanis were killed instantly in the crash and were pronounced dead at the scene. It is not known if any of their relatives will file a lawsuit.
The 2022 Flying Spur can go from zero to 60 mph in four seconds and sells for between $204,500 and $309,000 new, depending on optional extras.
The couple told friends there was a problem with the accelerator in the weeks leading up to the accident.
Bentley recalled some car models in 2021 because the accelerators were sticking, raising safety fears.
The automaker issued the recall in the summer of 2021 for Continental GT and Flying Spur models built between 2018 and 2021.
The massive explosion occurred when the car crashed into an immigration checkpoint.
The recall notice cited a manufacturing defect that caused the throttles to stick when activated.
“Due to inconsistent fit of the fuse box and electrical harness, the lower A-pillar trim may protrude into the cabin, reducing clearance to the accelerator pedal,” the notice warned.
‘If the accelerator pedal is fully depressed while driving and cannot return to its resting position, the vehicle will continue to accelerate, even when the driver removes his or her foot from the accelerator pedal.’
In July 1978, Villani’s grandmother, Lorraine, also died in a horrific accident when she was thrown from a boat into the Niagara River at 3 a.m.
The 2022 Flying Spur can go from zero to 60 mph in four seconds and sells for between $204,500 and $309,000 new, depending on optional extras.
Kurt and Gail Villani were also on board at the time, but were unharmed.
The ship struck a bridge while Lorraine Villani was at the helm. Later in 1984, the family successfully sued the company that had built the bridge, after it was found to be improperly lit, for $120,000.
Online records show the Villani family owns a variety of properties in the Grand Island area.