Upstate New York possible terrorist attack

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A deadly, fiery crash that occurred outside an entertainment venue in upstate New York early New Year's Day is being investigated as possible terrorism, a law enforcement source briefed on the case told ABC News.

Two people were killed after a Ford Expedition struck a Mitsubishi Outlander that was exiting a parking lot near the Kodak Center in Rochester, according to the city's police chief, David Smith.

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 also died, an official briefed on the probe told ABC News.

First responders found at least a dozen gasoline canisters in and around the Ford Expedition once the fire was extinguished, the police chief said.

Three pedestrians struck in the crash were transported to a local hospital -- one in life-threatening condition and two with non-life-threatening injuries, Smith said.

Investigators executed search warrants and conducted interviews overnight to learn more about the driver, who was not immediately identified, and what was going on in his life, the official said.

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."

The investigation is being led by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the law enforcement source said.

The driver is from Syracuse and drove his own vehicle to the Syracuse airport, where he rented the extra-large SUV, law enforcement officials confirmed to ABC News.

ABC News contributor Richard Frankel said that due to the "numerous" gas cans found at the scene, the deadly incident would need to be looked at as a "potential terrorism matter" until proven otherwise.

The driver who crashed an SUV loaded with gas cans outside a western New York concert venue appeared to have been aiming at a pedestrian crossing, but there’s no evidence of a terror motive in the fiery wreck that killed him and two ride-hail passengers on New Year’s Day, police said Tuesday.

The man behind the wheel, tentatively identified as Michael Avery, 35, of the Syracuse area, may have suffered from undiagnosed mental health problems, Rochester police Chief David Smith said at a news conference.

Avery had spent days in the Rochester area and made at least a half-dozen purchases of gasoline and fuel containers before the crash. But officials say the motive remains unknown

The driver of the SUV, a Ford Expedition, accelerated as he neared the theater, crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic and appeared to have intentionally been driving toward a crosswalk filled with people, according to police.

But the Expedition then struck a Mitsubishi Outlander pulling out of a parking lot, sending both vehicles sliding into people in the crossing.

Two rear-seat passengers in the Outlander were killed. Avery died later at a hospital, according to Smith. At least nine pedestrians were injured, one with “life-altering” injuries. The rest were expected to make full recoveries, officials said.

Police say Avery drove to the Rochester area Wednesday and checked into a hotel, renting the Expedition two days later at the local airport. He went on a buying spree of gasoline and gasoline containers around the area Saturday.

“We’ve uncovered no evidence of an ideology and no nexus to terrorism, either international or domestic so far in the investigation,” said Jeremy Bell, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Rochester office.