Rochester, N.Y. (WBEN/ABC/AP) - A deadly and fiery early New Year's Day crash in Rochester is being investigated as possible terrorism, a law enforcement source briefed on the case told ABC News Monday.
The Buffalo office of the FBI is assisting with the investigation.
Two people were killed and five others injured after a Ford Expedition struck a Mitsubishi Outlander that was exiting a parking lot near the Kodak Center, according to the city's police chief, David Smith.
The collision occurred around 12:50 a.m. on Monday near a crosswalk, as concertgoers were leaving the venue, Smith said.
"The force of the collision caused the two vehicles to go through a group of pedestrians that were in the crosswalk, and then into two other vehicles," Smith said at a press briefing on Monday. "There was a large fire associated with the crash that took the Rochester Fire Department almost one hour to extinguish."
Two occupants of the Mitsubishi Outlander were killed and the driver was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the chief said. The driver of the Ford Expedition was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, he said.
Three pedestrians who were struck were also taken to hospitals, one of them in critical condition.
Once the flames were doused, firefighters “located at least a dozen gasoline canisters in and around” the Expedition, the police statement said. That prompted police to bring in an arson team and alert the FBI, police said.