They identified them today:
Kurt P. and Monica Villani, who died Wednesday when their car exploded at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, were a kind and hardworking couple who were closely tied to their Grand Island community, their friends said.
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'Tragic, horrible incident': Friends mourn couple killed in Niagara Falls bridge crash
Law enforcement barricade the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge to Canada in Niagara Falls on Wednesday after the crash. Friends remember the two people killed as a hardworking couple with close ties to their Grand Island community.
Derek Gee/Buffalo News
Maki Becker ,
Dan Herbeck
Kurt P. and Monica Villani, who died Wednesday when their
car exploded at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, were a kind and hardworking couple who were closely tied to their Grand Island community and the family hardware business Kurt’s father started nearly 40 years ago, their friends said Friday.
The couple, both age 53, were on their way to Toronto to see a Kiss concert after stopping at the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino when something went wrong. Multiple videos from the scene show their 2022 Bentley speeding in the plaza of the Rainbow Bridge going toward the bridge. The vehicle flew into the air and then exploded into flames.
A car that crashed and exploded Wednesday morning on the American side of the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, killing two people, does not appear to be an act of terrorism, Gov. Kathy Hochul said during a news conference.
"There is no sign of terrorist activity with respect to this crash. We have identified that this is a local individual," she said.
The explosion prompted fears of terrorism. But the FBI and other assisting agencies concluded within hours that the explosion was not a terrorist act and rather a terrible accident – possibly caused by a medical incident or a vehicle malfunction. In 2021, the Australian government issued a limited recall of Bentleys over problems with the accelerator getting stuck.
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Niagara Falls Mayor Robert M. Restaino told The Buffalo News he has been a longtime friend of the Villani family. Kurt Villani Sr., who died last year, started the family’s business, Gui’s Lumber and Home Center, in 1986, according to its website. It has since grown to seven Ace Hardware stores throughout Western New York.
“I also knew Kurt’s dad, who died last year, through my father. Our families have known each other for decades. I knew Kurt and Monica, two kind, easygoing and very hardworking people,” Restaino told The News on Friday. “This was just a tragic, horrible incident, and because of the condition of the vehicle and sadly the human remains, we may never find out exactly what happened.”
The Villanis had a son and a daughter, and are also survived by Kurt Villani’s mother, the mayor said.
Eric Fiebelkorn, president of the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce, said the Villanis were well-known on the island, especially in the business community.
“Everybody knows everybody on Grand Island,” Fiebelkorn said. “... It’s the smallest town of small towns. There are some people who are always plugged in. Their family always was.”
The Villanis were always happy to help with charitable causes and community projects, he said.
“They are a very generous and community-oriented family,” Fiebelkorn said. “With the loss or Kurt Sr. last year, and now this tragic loss of Kurt Jr. and Monica, it leaves a void in our small-town business community that will be very difficult to fill. Our prayers and our thoughts certainly go out to their family and staff. The membership of the Chamber of Commerce will be available to help them in any way we can.”
The Villanis had recently purchased land in the town center to develop. “We were excited to see what they were going to do with that,” he said.
The occupants of the fast-moving car that went airborne over an 8-foot fence and crashed and exploded at the American side of the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday appear to have stopped at Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino just before the fatal crash.
News spread quickly through the town about the crash as residents heard that it involved a Bentley and people from Grand Island, he said.
“It’s a nice community, but not too many of us have Bentleys,” he said.
The town will be mourning the tragedy for some time, he said.
“It’s so sudden. Almost, really unbelievable,” Fiebelkorn said.
The Villani family, along with the Maniccias – Monica Villani’s family – and Gui’s Lumber released a statement Friday through the Erie County Sheriff’s Office: “We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all that extended prayers, condolences and well wishes. We are deeply touched. At this point, we are requesting privacy so we may begin the process of healing. Thank you.”
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The cause of the crash remained under investigation Friday.
On Wednesday night, Gov. Kathy Hochul said that it may take a while to determine what happened. “This vehicle basically incinerated; there is nothing left but the engine,” she said. Photos from the scene on the U.S. side of the Rainbow Bridge showed charred bits of debris strewn all over the toll inspection area.
Restaino said that based on his conversations with police, a medical emergency or a mechanical problem with the couple’s Bentley luxury car are seen as the most likely causes of the fiery, high-speed crash.
In this photo taken from security video, Kurt P. and Monica Villani’s vehicle, top left, is seen traveling at high speed toward the Rainbow Bridge customs plaza before it crashed.
Customs Border Protection via AP
The Niagara Falls mayor said police are aware that some Bentley vehicles – other than the model that Villani was driving – have been recalled in recent years because of problems with stuck accelerator pedals.
“I’m not saying they have decided that was the cause, but they are certainly looking into it,” Restaino said.
In 2021, the Australian government issued a limited recall of about 400 Bentleys manufactured between 2018 and 2021 – Continental GT and Flying Spur – for issues involving the accelerator.
“If the accelerator pedal is fully pressed whilst driving and is unable to return to its resting position, the vehicle will continue to accelerate, even when the driver’s foot is removed from the accelerator pedal,” the recall notice said. “...This could increase the risk of losing vehicle control, potentially resulting in a collision and/or serious injury or death of vehicle occupants and other road users.”
As of 12:40 p.m. Friday, a spokeswoman for the company that sells Bentleys in the United States said she was unaware of any contact between the company and police regarding the crash.
“We saw the videos of the accident and Bentley is certainly going to help out any way we can, once we are contacted by the police,” said Erin Bronner, spokeswoman for Bentley USA.
There have been safety recalls for Bentley Flying Spur vehicles that were produced in the years 2018-2021, she said, but those were vehicles sold outside the United States, and on those vehicles the driver sits on the right side of the car.
Bronner said she could not say for certain Friday whether the Villanis’ car ever had a problem with the accelerator pedal.
“Until we get the VIN number and information on the service records of the car, I could not answer that question,” Bronner told The Buffalo News.
She said Bentley will “absolutely” cooperate with any police investigation into the crash.
Restaino told The News that, to his knowledge, the Villanis were riding in a 2022 Flying Spur when it crashed.
Restaino said he would be astonished if the crash was a purposeful event.
“I know police are looking into every possibility, but from my conversations with investigators, that appears very unlikely,” Restaino said.
News staff reporter Stephen T. Watson contributed to this article.
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