NYPD X-rays suspicious truck at bridge, clears it

[May 06, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- A suspicious truck abandoned Wednesday several yards from a toll booth near the Manhattan side of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge turned out to be empty and not a threat, the New York Police Department said.

The bridge reopened for traffic after being closed briefly Wednesday night.

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

The NYPD bomb squad and other emergency responders rushed to the scene in a city still jittery from the attempted car bomb attack in Times Square on Saturday.

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 vehicle, described as a U-Haul or Ryder truck, was then moved near the toll plaza. Police were looking to speak to the person who abandoned it. "We don't know why he fled," Browne said.

Browne said the truck had been driven from the Bronx, toward Manhattan and the man fled in the direction of Queens.

Traffic on the bridge resumed around midnight.

The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge formerly was called the Triborough Bridge. It's a complex of spans connecting Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.