Driver charged with murder after bus rams into Canada daycare, killing two children

Police secure the scene where a city bus crashed into a daycare centre in Laval, on Feb 8, 2023. PHOTO: AFP

LAVAL, Canada - A city bus driver is facing first-degree murder charges after his vehicle rammed into a daycare centre in a Montreal suburb on Wednesday, killing two children and injuring six others.

Police did not give a cause for the crash, but filed murder and assault charges against Pierre Ny St-Amand, 51.

Authorities said the driver has worked for the transit system for 10 years and does not have a criminal record.

The six children who were taken to hospital did not have life-threatening injuries, police said.

The incident happened at about 8.30am (9.30pm Singapore time), when kids are usually dropped off by their parents at daycare centres.

Authorities did not confirm the children’s ages, but according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, about 80 kids under the age of 5 attend that daycare facility. 

“I helped subdue the driver who got off the bus,” one father told Radio Canada, crying.

His wife said the man was “half undressed” and both saw him “ram deliberately into the day care.”

“I’m devastated. We all are,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

“Obviously, we’re all hoping and praying that the kids are all right, or that they pull through and get well soon.

“(I) can’t imagine what the families are going through. But obviously, if there’s anything the federal government can do, (it) will be there.”

The bus appeared to have smashed into a side of the building which is not located near the road but near a parking lot. Part of the roof collapsed on top of the front of the vehicle.

A large perimeter was deployed around the partly destroyed building, police in Laval, which is in the province of Quebec, told AFP. A helicopter passed overhead at regular intervals, according to an AFP journalist on the scene.

Another parent, holding her own child, said it was the centre’s class of oldest children that was hit.

“It’s a shock, a lot of parents are panicking because they can’t get in, and their children are in there,” she added.

‘Terrible tragedy’

Victims were taken to Sainte-Justine hospital, which was set to have a press conference later in the day.

“What a terrible tragedy this morning in Laval,” Quebec Premier Francois Legault tweeted.

“There is nothing worse than being afraid for your child. I am thinking of the children, the parents and the employees,” he added.

“As a father, I am shaken,” he said later at a press conference.

“I can understand the anguish that the parents are going through,” he said.

The daycare centre is not located near the road or a parking lot, and parents who witnessed the collision said it looked like it could have been on purpose. PHOTO: AFP

“I am shocked by this news. The investigation continues to understand this tragic series of events,” tweeted Stephane Boyer, the mayor of Laval.

“All of my support to the parents at these difficult moments,” he added, saying he was going to the scene to meet with the families.

“Laval is wholeheartedly with you and will be there for you.” REUTERS, AFP

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