Around 1,000 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 of those revellers were killed when a man “intentionally” rammed his Ford SUV into the Uber they were riding in, before slamming into pedestrians on the crosswalk.
On Tuesday, police released the name and picture of the suspect Michael Avery – who also succumbed to injuries from the crash.
Now, at a time meant for celebration and new beginnings, investigators are trying to find out why the tragedy occurred and what the possible motive may have been.
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 out of the Kodak Center 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.
The Ford SUV was left with almost just its’ skeleton after gas cannisters fuelled its huge fire— (WHAM)
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.
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 are the victims?
Police have identified Justina Hughes, 28, of Geneva and Joshua Orr, 29, of Webster, as the two victims who lost their lives in the crash.
The pair had just celebrated the new year together at the rock concert and were riding in an Uber leaving the venue when the vehicle was struck by Avery’s SUV.
Hughes’ family said in a statement that “we take peace in knowing that Justina and her very best friend, Josh, spent their last moments together, enjoying their passion and friendship”.
Joshua Orr, 29 and Justina Hughes, 28 were killed in the fiery crash outisde the Kodak Center on New Year’s Day— (Provided photo/WHAM)
Her family said they will both “forever be heroes” as “many other lives were saved because they became, albeit unaware, a shield for others,” when Avery’s speeding vehicle struck their car first before the crowd.
Orr’s family also said in a statement that he is a “hero” and “saved countless lives from being taken away from our community”.
“On New Year’s Eve, Josh was doing his favourite thing in the world, attending a Grateful Dead tribute band when he was taken from us,” they added.
Orr’s partner Brit Abbott described him as the “kindest man” and said she will “miss him for the rest of my life”.
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, where he died later on Monday.
Michael Avery, 35, was seen purchasing gas cannisters— (Rochester Police Department/X)
Numerous other pedestrians, including a Rochester police officer, came very close to being hurt, as the vehicles tore through the crowd, putting many lives in danger.
Who is the suspect?
Michael Avery, a 35-year-old man from Syracuse, New York, was named as the 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.”
Police and firefighters in Rochester, New York, battle a blaze at the scene of a fiery New Year’s Eve car crash that killed two— (screengrab/YouTube/CBS8)
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.
Two adult victims in the Mitsubishi were killed by the crash— (WHAM)
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.”
