New York Police clears suspicious truck near bridge

New York:

The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge was closed in all directions for several hours on Wednesday night and the Police Department's bomb squad was called in after a man abandoned a U-Haul truck that smelled of gasoline, the police said.

The driver, said to be carrying a white bag, fled the scene after getting out of the truck. The police had not found the man as of early Thursday, and were trying to determine why he stopped the U-Haul and ran away.

After the bomb squad bored into the truck, officials determined that there was no danger, and the bridge was expected to be reopened early Thursday.

The truck stopped about 9:40 p.m. as it was approaching the bridge's Manhattan-bound toll plaza, said Paul J. Browne, the chief police spokesman. The driver got out and ran in the direction of Queens, Mr. Browne said.

The truck approached the bridge, formerly known as the Triborough, from the direction of the Bronx, possibly via the Bruckner Expressway. Workers approached the truck as it sat abandoned about 100 yards north of the plaza, and as they approached, a strong smell of gasoline was evident, the police said.

Bomb squad technicians were called in and by about 11:30 were using X-ray equipment on the truck to try to determine its contents.

Francis X. Gribbon, a Fire Department spokesman, said the call about the truck came in just before 10 p.m. "We responded to a report of a fuel leak or odor of gas," he said.

The F.D.R. Drive remained opened but grew congested in Upper Manhattan.