A car carrying gas canisters crashed into a crowd on New Year’s Day. Three people have been left dead

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A thousand people attended a special New Year’s celebration at the Kodak Center on Sunday night, where Buffalo rock band moe. was performing to ring in 2024.

As the performance ended, a huge crowd of people piled onto the streets outside the venue in Rochester, New York, all trying to make their way home.

Not even an hour into the new year, two people hailed an Uber and were turning out of the parking lot when they were ploughed into by a Ford SUV, killing the two passengers on scene.

The Ford also “intentionally” drove into a large crowd of people on the crosswalk outside the venue, leaving at least one person with life-altering injuries.

Police have released the name and a picture of the suspect, who also ended his own life in the collision, yet there has been no identifiable cause or possible motivation for the crash that has left three dead.

During a time that is meant for celebration and new beginnings, investigators are working hard to understand why such a tragic incident occurred in Rochester.

Here’s everything we know so far about the Kodak Center collision:

The crash

Around 12.52am, around a thousand people were pouring out of the music venue when a Ford Expedition SUV plummeted into a Mitsubishi Outlander driven by an Uber driver.

The Mitsubishi was leaving a parking lot when the Ford collided with it, which sparked the vehicle to go up in flames.

Rochester Chief of Police David Smith said at a news briefing on Tuesday that it appeared the suspect Ford driver had “sped up” and crossed into oncoming traffic, then “intentionally” drove into the pedestrian crossing.

Before the collision, Rochester police officers were already at the Kodak Center to help monitor the concertgoers leaving the venue.

Two officers were assisting numerous pedestrians when the crashing vehicles ploughed into the crowd, that then hit two other vehicles before stopping.

Who are the victims?

Authorities have not yet identified the victims, but the Rochester police did confirm that two people riding in the Uber were killed during the crash.

The driver of the Mitsubishi has also been taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

At least nine pedestrians who were on the crossing at the time of the crash have been injured, with one person sustaining “life-altering” injuries.

All other pedestrians injured are expected to make a full recovery, Chief Smith said at the briefing on Tuesday.

The driver of the SUV was also taken to hospital, also believed to be in a life-threatening condition.

In total, two people were tragically killed, and at least nine people were reported to be injured, one of whom is in a life-threatening condition.

Numerous pedestrians, including a Rochester police officer, came very close to being hurt, as the vehicles tore through the crowd, putting many lives in danger.

The fatal crash caused the Ford to set on fire, surging into a huge blaze which took firefighters almost an hour to extinguish.

After the fire was put out, it was revealed that half a dozen gas canisters were lying in the vehicle and on the street, which possibly caused the car to go up in such a powerful blaze.

Who is the suspect?

Michael Avery, a 35-year-old man from Syracuse, New York, has been named as a suspect by police.

Avery died in hospital on Monday evening after being left in a life-threatening condition by the incident, Chief Smith confirmed.

It is unclear why Avery drove recklessly, why it happened near the Kodak Center and if there was any motivation behind it at all.

It was reported that the incident might have been linked to domestic terrorism, but authorities squashed this theory on Tuesday, saying they had no evidence to suggest that.

Officials said there was no indication of “political or social biases,” or the incident being part of a larger plot or other people being involved.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeremy Bell said that The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the incident but added that is “not abnormal.”

It was also reported that there was a search of Avery’s hotel room where police found a suicide note or a journal, but Chief Smith said that while there was a search, nothing of the sort had been found.

The police had spoken to Avery’s family and did say, however, that he had been suffering from “possible undiagnosed mental health issues.”

Avery’s actions leading up to the crash

Avery had travelled in his vehicle to Rochester, New York, on 27 December, where he checked into WoodSpring Suites in the town of Greece.

On 29 December, the suspect rented the Ford Expedition SUV from a car rental agency at Rochester Airport.

The next day, he drove around the Ontario area in New York, where he made multiple purchases at different locations buying gasoline and gas containers.

Police have released pictures of Avery buying gas products a few days before the fatal crash.

It is believed Avery made the purchases alone.

Communities devastated

Buffalo-based band moe. who played at the New Year’s Day concert at the Kodak Center where the deadly crash unfolded, said they were left in “shock and sadness” at what happened.

“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of those who lost their lives, and our thoughts are with those who were injured,” they said in a statement.

One concertgoer, Lorne Mauldin, told WHAM that the crash was extremely close to hitting the venue.

“Everybody kind of flooded toward the windows a little bit to see how close the crash actually was because it was only about 20 feet from the building and, at the time, when everybody was funnelling out, the flames were probably still like 15 feet high,” he told the outlet.

Another concert attendee, Gayle Shalvoy, told the outlet that after the crash, the smell of gasoline was “intense.”

“When we did finally get outside and you saw the carnage of the cars and the one car burnt up and car pieces everywhere… I couldn’t believe how strong [the gasoline] was,” she said.

While the band’s fanbase was severely affected by the crash outside the venue, the people of Rochester have also been asking why this incident happened in their area specifically.

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans spoke on these worries on Tuesday, saying that they will have to be patient as the investigation goes on.

He offered his condolences to the devastated families and urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward to authorities.

“I would have been liking to stand at this podium to deliver ‘Happy New Year’ and smile and say good news, but unfortunately, today we don’t have [good] news,” Mr Evans said at the conference.

“We have several individuals whose family’s lives have changed because they will not be here to bring in 2024.”