Nearly two weeks have passed since a driver crashed a SUV loaded with gas cans into a crowd of New Years concertgoers at a western New York. Authorities said that they may not know the reason for this ‘intentional attack’.
Rochester police confirmed Friday that Michael Avery, 35 spent hours near the Kodak Center in parking lots, and in other places, the night before the fatal crash. Avery was killed along with two other passengers and a pedestrian earlier this week. Avery bought a ticket for the show but did not enter, Chief David Smith revealed at a press conference.
Smith reported that investigators also found lighters and a replica pistol in Avery’s Ford Expedition. The chief also said that a 20-page diary with scattered entries, which appeared to be older than several years and not related to the accident, was found.
UNSOLVED MYSTERIES WERE RESOLVED
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans stated that Avery had planned an “assault against innocent people”, and that Avery’s actions showed “that he was willing to do more.”
Rochester police investigate the fatal fire crash that occurred outside of the Kodak center in Rochester, N.Y. on Monday morning, January 1, 2024. The statement stated that a Ford Expedition hit a Mitsubishi Outlander and both vehicles went “through a crowd of pedestrians who were in the crossing” (WHAM TV via AP).
Evans stated that “we may never know the reason why he chose to commit this act.”
Investigators searched Avery’s room at the hotel, his storage unit, and even his car, which was parked in Rochester Airport. The authorities are looking through hundreds of hours worth of surveillance footage and have spoken to people who knew Avery. Smith stated that investigators have not found any coconspirators or ties to “extremist ideology” as well as any motive.
Avery, an occassional delivery driver from the Syracuse region, had behavioral issues, according to him. Smith said that his family did not see any immediate signs of trouble in the last month.
FIERY NEW YORK CRASH KILLS 2 AND INJURES 5, FOLLOWING A CONCERT IN ROCHESTER
Avery, according to police, spent the last days of December filling up multiple gas cans and buying fuel in Rochester.
Around 1 am on January 1, he drove his Ford Expedition in an oncoming lane, and seemed to be heading for a pedestrian crossing filled with people who were leaving a jam band show.
The SUV struck a ride hail vehicle and both slid into the crosswalk. Justina Hughes, a ride-hail passenger, and Joshua Orr were both killed. Several other people, including pedestrians, were also injured.
Smith confirmed that Dawn Revette, 54 years old, was one of the injured. She died on Wednesday. Revette was a Rochester resident.
According to the police chief, one person remains hospitalized with injuries not considered life-threatening.