2 children dead, driver charged after bus crashes into daycare in Laval, Que.
CBC
WARNING: This article contains distressing details.
A 51-year-old man drove a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que., on Wednesday morning, killing two children and injuring six more.
Pierre Ny St-Amand, a bus driver with the Société de transport de Laval (STL), was arrested at the scene.
He has been charged with several crimes, including two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm.
Around 8:30 a.m., the Laval city bus crashed into the Garderie Éducative de Sainte-Rose in the Sainte-Rose neighbourhood on Terrasse Dufferin. There is a bus stop for the 151 line on the roundabout near the daycare.
A neighbour who witnessed the crash said he and a group of parents tried to rescue children pinned under the bus and managed to subdue the driver, who was acting erratically.
Laval police spokesperson Erika Landry said one child died at the scene. Seven children were rushed to hospital with injuries and one died in hospital. One adult was also taken to hospital to be treated for shock.
Dr. Marc Girard, the director of professional services at Sainte-Justine Hospital, said at an afternoon news conference that the hospital admitted four victims, all preschool-age children, two boys and two girls.
The children were conscious when they arrived at the hospital, but were suffering from various traumatic injuries, Girard said. They are now recovering and in stable condition, he said.
Sébastien Rocheleau, director of medical services at the Laval regional health authority, said the Cité-de-la-Santé Hospital received three patients from the daycare. One child died despite resuscitation efforts. The other two are under observation and their injuries are not considered life-threatening.
On Wednesday afternoon, the suspect appeared in court virtually while lying in a hospital bed. The proceedings were delayed several times, as the judge wondered if St-Amand was fit to appear in court, but the situation was eventually sorted out and the appearance went ahead as planned.
St-Amand is scheduled to be in court in person on Feb. 17.
Hamdi Ben Chaabane, who lives in the neighbourhood and was one of the first on the scene, said the bus must have been travelling 30 or 40 km/h when it struck the daycare.
"From what I saw, it wasn't an accident," he said.