(NewsNation) — Authorities are still investigating the deadly New Year’s Day car crash that killed two victims and injured nine others but say there is no evidence of terrorism.
The two-vehicle collision happened just after 1 a.m. in Rochester, New York, outside a concert at the Kodak Center.
The FBI and other federal authorities are helping Rochester police investigate. At this time, authorities have not found a connection to terrorism or any larger plot. No motive has been revealed either.
The suspect, who officials identified as 35-year-old Michael Avery from Syracuse, died from his injuries, law enforcement sources said.
Officials say Avery drove to Rochester and bought dozens of gasoline containers as well as rented a Ford Expedition a few days before New Year’s Eve. Surveillance photos show him carrying the gas containers and what looks like plastic bins early Monday morning.
Police say he drove the rental SUV to the Kodak Theatre, where a concert had just ended, and sped up toward pedestrians in a crosswalk. Avery hit a rideshare vehicle, killing two passengers inside and injuring nine others, including pedestrians.
The collision caused an explosion and a large blaze that took the fire department over an hour to extinguish.
Once the flames were doused, firefighters “located at least a dozen gasoline canisters in and around” the Expedition, a police statement said. That prompted police to bring in an arson team and alert the FBI, police said.
Based on interviews with Avery’s family, investigators believe he was suffering from undiagnosed mental health issues.
