Police recognized the driving force and passenger of the fiery crash on the Niagara Falls, New York border on November 22 as Kurt P. Villani and his passenger and spouse Monica Villani. The couple have been driving in a 2022 Bentley Flying Spur that exploded when it crashed right into a border checkpoint.
A Bentley spokesperson stated that the incident was not tied to a 2021 recall of some Bentley fashions over the danger of potential accelerator pedal sticking, however authorities are nonetheless investigating the reason for this deadly crash. This recall is alleged to not have an effect on any left-hand-drive automobiles.
A civil engineer in Westchester County, N.Y. who serves as an professional witness on street designs stated that the Flying Spur was touring at very excessive pace, and proof from surveillance movies point out that Mr. Villani was alert, not impaired, and was urgent on the brakes. The New York Times reported:
The Villanis had briefly visited the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino, a gleaming on line casino simply to the east of town’s well-known waterfalls, earlier than they hit the median, sending the Flying Spur capturing into the air. A border safety officer in a checkpoint sales space had minor accidents.
Only about 30 seconds handed between when the automobile turned onto Niagara Street and when it struck a median on the checkpoint, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile, Mr. Restaino stated. In surveillance video launched by the authorities, the Bentley appeared to narrowly miss a black automobile that made a left flip throughout its path at an intersection simply earlier than the checkpoint.
The Villanis have been energetic and revered members of the Grand Island neighborhood, a city of underneath 25,000 inhabitants, and their neighborhood was shocked to study of the accident.
Authorities pieced collectively the moments earlier than the explosion, citing that the Villanis had left the on line casino and have been headed to a Kiss live performance in Toronto when Mr. Villani apparently misplaced management, hitting a median that launched the 5,000-pound-plus Bentley into the air, after which it collided with a car inspection sales space inflicting minor accidents to a border safety officer.
Community testimonials from pals of the Villanis poured in citing the household’s generosity by way of acts like plowing neighbors’ driveways and donating to restore the Niagara Sailing Club following a critical fireplace in 2021.
The Villanis owned an Ace Hardware chain in western N.Y. known as Gui’s Lumber, and are survived by their young-adult son and daughter. Robert Restaino, the mayor of Niagara Falls and an acquaintance of Mr. Villani, stated the crash might have been even worse given the busy journey day and the Flying Spur crossing a number of busy intersections previous to launching into the sales space on the border.
Source: jalopnik.com