Police X-rayed the truck, then examined it thoroughly -- including cutting a hole in the side of the truck to see whether it had an explosive device.
New York police determined that a moving truck abandoned on the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge did not pose a threat.
Authorities have determined that a moving truck abandoned on the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, formerly known as Triborough Bridge, did not pose a threat.
Police closed off the bridge for about two hours in both directions after being made aware of the incident around 10 p.m. Wednesday.
The department's bomb squad was called to the scene after a toll booth operator who approached the U-Haul truck smelled a strong odor of gasoline, said Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne.
"There's no explosive devices of any kind on any part of the vehicle," he said.
Police will now move the truck to reopen the bridge to traffic.
"When the bridge authority officer smelled the gasoline and saw the driver running from the vehicle, all traffic on the bridge was taken off and the bridge itself was closed in all directions," Browne said.
The truck, with Arizona license plates, was headed to Manhattan from the Bronx when the driver abandoned it about 1,000 feet from a toll both and ran off, witnesses told police.
Browne described the driver as a man in dark clothing carrying a white bag.
The bridge earned its former name -- Triborough -- because it connects three of New York's five boroughs: Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx.
The city has been on edge since Saturday night, when a man unsuccessfully tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square.
The New York Police Department says a truck abandoned several yards from a toll booth near the Manhattan side of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge is empty and isn't a threat.
The bridge has reopened for traffic after being closed briefly.
Police say witnesses had reported seeing a man flee the vehicle Wednesday night. A smell of gasoline was reported coming from the vehicle, which was described as a U-Haul or Ryder truck.
Police X-rayed the truck and cut a hole in the side to discover it was empty. They're looking to speak to the person who abandoned it.
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.
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