2 children dead after Laval bus crashes into daycare; driver charged with murder

A 51-year-old man is facing murder charges after two children were killed when a city bus crashed into a daycare north of Montreal Wednesday morning in what witnesses said appeared to be a deliberate act.

The driver of the Société de transport de Laval (STL) bus, identified as Pierre Ny St-Amand, was arrested and taken into custody and faces a total of nine charges, including attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm.

One child was declared dead on the scene, police say, while the other was taken to hospital and later declared dead. According to court documents, both children were four years old.

The lives of the six other children who were taken to hospital are no longer in danger.

Four children were taken to Montreal’s Sainte-Justine pediatric hospital, said Dr. Marc Girard, head of professional services. The preschool-aged children – two boys and two girls – were conscious when they arrived at the hospital and are being evaluated, he told reporters, adding that one child was in intensive care.

“The children who needed more immediate care were sent to a trauma centre that was closer (to the scene),” Girard said.

The other two kids were transported to Cité-de-la-Santé and remain under observation.

One adult was taken to hospital for shock.

Police said a 911 call about the crash was received at 8:30 a.m., which is typically around the time parents drop their children off for the day. Mario Sirois, another neighbour, said he was among the first on the scene and helped stop the suspect as he tried to flee.

“It can’t be an accident,” Sirois said. “There were no signs of skid marks. It was deliberate. He went directly into the daycare.”

Sirois’ wife, Ginette Lamoureux, described a scene of horror inside the daycare. “The children were screaming and crying, they were all in a room …. A mother arrived and collapsed,” she said. “The policewoman was trying to calm her down. I left, I was no longer able.”

#WATCH: Witness to bus that crashed into a daycare in Laval’s Sainte-Rose, tells us what she saw. Ginette Lamoureux lives nearby the scene.

MORE: https://t.co/YVogUrCeVX pic.twitter.com/5VQWT6yyAO

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) February 8, 2023

A neighbour to the daycare said he rushed over to the scene of the crash. Hamdi Benchaabane told reporters children were stuck under the bus, and that he and three parents managed to subdue the driver, who he said had stepped out of the bus, removed all his clothing and started screaming.

“He was yelling, he didn’t stop yelling,” Benchaabane said. “The first thing he did was take off all his clothes after opening the bus door …. He was just yelling, there were no words coming out of his mouth.”

Benchaabane said he believes the driver deliberately drove into the daycare, which is located at the end of a driveway off a cul-de-sac. There is a bus stop on the cul-de-sac, but the driver would have had to veer off the road and head down the long driveway to hit the building.

He said he and the others had to strike the driver to get him under control, before police cuffed the man. The driver, he said, “was in a different world.”

Benchaabane said he was able to help pull one child from the daycare, adding that he and the others tried to save a second child before firefighters ordered them to leave because pieces of the roof were at risk of falling.

“It was a nightmare, I can’t believe it,” he said of what he witnessed. “It was horrible.”

Laval police chief Pierre Brochet told reporters at the scene Wednesday afternoon that he was having trouble controlling his emotions.

“I saw colleagues crying; it’s difficult,” he said. “The job of police officer requires you to be ready for any situation, but when it comes to children it’s hard.” Brochet said the suspect was still being interrogated, adding that police did not have information about the motive.

Laval Mayor Stephane Boyer said the driver has worked for the transit agency for about 10 years and has no incidents of note on his file.

“There is a theory that it was an intentional act, but that remains to be confirmed by the investigation,” Boyer said.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to the crash. “Our thoughts are with families in Laval who are living incredibly difficult moments …we hope that everyone will be OK,” he said. “We are following the situation closely.”

Earlier Wednesday, Quebec Premier Francois Legault said his thoughts are with the children and their families, as well as with the employees of the daycare in Laval. “We are going to give the parents all the help we can, and as a father, I am shaken.”