Empty Truck on RFK Bridge Causes Scare

MYFOXNY.COM - Police said the U-haul truck that caused a bomb scare after it was ditched near a toll booth at the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge is not terrorism related. The driver may have fled because the truck was stolen.

The abandoned truck caused major traffic problems Wednesday night when the bridge was closed. The truck may have been leaking fuel.

The NYPD's Bomb Squad and Emergency Service Unit responded to the scene to examine the vehicle, while Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority officers shut down all lanes at around 10 p.m.

Police spokesman Paul Browne said a TBTA officer believed he smelled gasoline coming from the truck and he saw a man flee the vehicle.

Police officers carefully opened the truck and discovered that it was empty, the NYPD said. Police X-rayed the truck and cut a hole in the side and discovered it was empty. They inspected the engine and the undercarriage. "Nothing was found," Browne said.

The bridge was reopened about two hours later.

Witnesses reported seeing a man running from the vehicle with a white bag, police said.

The driver was waived over by TBTA officers who do routine searches of trucks on city bridges.

Cops were looking to speak to the person who abandoned it.

"We don't know why he fled," Browne said. The truck had been driven from the Bronx, toward Manhattan, and the man fled in the direction of Queens, Browne said.

Authorities were taking no chances after the failed bomb plot in Times Square over the weekend in which an explosives-laded SUV was left on 45th Street.

The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge formerly was called the Triborough Bridge. It features several spans connecting Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx.