Quebec daycare bus crash – live: Witnesses say driver stripped naked after wreck that killed two children

Two children have died and six have been injured after a city bus crashed into a daycare centre in Quebec.

Police in the city of Laval said the bus had ploughed into the centre at around 8.30am on Wednesday, in what witnesses described as a deliberate act.

Officials named the man behind the wheel as Pierre Ny St-Amand, 51. He appeared in court charged with two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and four counts of assault with a weapon causing bodily harm.

According to reports, he had worked for the Société de transport de Laval (STL) for about 10 years, had no previous criminal convictions and no known connection to the daycare.

“From what I saw, it wasn’t an accident,” local resident Hamdi Ben Chaabane told CBC News, adding that the bus appeared to be going between 30 and 40 kph.

He then described how the driver stepped out of the bus, removed all his clothing, and began screaming incoherently, forcing Ben Chaabane and several other parents to subdue him before trying to rescue children who had been trapped under the bus.

Suspect ‘attacked officer’ and refused to speak to judge

12:47 , Io Dodds

What exactly happened during suspect Pierre Ny St-Amand’s court appearance on Wednesday afternoon?

The 51-year-old bus driver, who had worked for the city of Laval’s transit agency for about ten years, appeared before the judge via video link because he had been taken to hospital due to concerns about his mental health.

He was reportedly meant to be charged via telephone, but refused to speak, meaning a police constable named Simon Lesage had to dial in using his mobile phone camera so the suspect could nod and shake his head in response to questions.

Mr Lesage told the court that there was nothing physically wrong with St-Amand, and that he would undergo a mental health examination by order of a hospital doctor.

The line then dropped, with Mr Lesage explaining: “I’m sorry for the delay, but he hit me. He hit me because he is angry. I’m trying to get my spirits back.”

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Prosecutors said the doctor had requested a mental health check because they were worried the suspect posed a threat to medical staff.

Mr St-Amand lives near the daycare centre in Laval with his partner and children, and was described by neighbours as a doting father and a friendly presence in the neighbourhood. He came to Quebec from Cambodia when he was 11.

He is now charged with murder, attempted murder, and many counts of assault against children. He has not yet entered a plea, and is due again in court next Friday (17 Feb).

ICYMI: Bus driver’s Facebook page shows ordinary family life

11:32 , Io Dodds

These photos come from what appears to be the Facebook profile of bus driver Pierre Ny St-Amand.

The profile does not offer much detail, at least for users who are not friends. Fields for work, education, location, contact details, and other details appear blank.

The only photos visible depict an ordinary family life: St-Amand, his partner, and two young children posing for a photo outside a ski lodge in January 2020, and at a flower garden around the same time.

The Independent has blurred the faces of the other people in the photos to protect their identities.

A picture apparently showing Pierre Ny St-Amand with his partner and child in January 2020 (Pierre Ny St-Amand via Facebook)

A picture apparently showing Pierre Ny St-Amand at a ski lodge in January 2020 (Pierre Ny St-Amand via Facebook)

‘Every child was crying’

10:29 , Io Dodds

What exactly happened in the moments after the bus rammed into the Saint-Rose daycare centre on Wednesday morning?

Speaking to The Montreal Gazette, witness Hamdi Ben Chaabane, 37 said he was at home when he heard a loud crashing sound and then screaming.

When he dashed outside, he found a Laval city bus stuck into the daycare building, whose roof had partially collapsed. He said he saw the driver exiting the vehicle and yelling as he tore off all his clothes.

Mr Ben Chaabane and three other people tackled the driver to the ground, helping nearby police officers to handcuff him. They then attempted to help the children.

“It was complete panic,” said Mr Ben Chaabane. “Every child was crying.”

Another witness was Ginette Lamoureux, 66, who told the Gazette that her husband had helped Mr Chaabane wrestle the driver to the ground while she entered the daycare building, which was full of debris.

“I couldn’t stay there, it was too difficult,” she said. “Children were screaming and crying. It was awful. It’s horrible.”

ICYMI: Witness describes driver’s ‘erratic’ behaviour

09:25 , Io Dodds

Hamdi Ben Chaabane lives in the area where the crash took place.

“From what I saw, it wasn’t an accident,” he told CBC on Wednesday morning.

He said the driver exited the vehicle after the crash and started acting unpredictably.

“He opened the door. He took off all his clothes. He was totally naked,” the witness said. “We don’t know why he did that. We dove on him. We tried to subdue him.”

He said the driver seemed to be “in another world.”

“It was a nightmare. It’s horrible. He didn’t stop yelling. He wasn’t saying words,” he said.

‘Panicked’ parents rush to find their children

08:20 , Io Dodds

One parent whose child was in the daycare centre has described the “panic” as parents rushed to find their children in the wake of the crash.

Julia Moreno, whose three-year-old was inside the daycare during the wreck, told Montreal’s CTV news: “Panic… panic… I called all my friends. My friend’s son is at Ste-Justine right now – I think he is okay.”

Nathalie Vaillancourt, whose child was also inside, said that the bus destroyed the front of the daycare building. Both women’s children were unhurt.

Suspect ‘does not require a high level of intellect’ to stand trial

07:14 , Io Dodds

The legal standard that decides whether someone is fit to stand trial is fairly low in Quebec, a legal expert has said.

Criminal lawyer Walid Hijazi told Radio Canada that the threshold for fitness was “not very high” and “does not require a high level of intellect”.

The defendant, Mr Hijazi explained, “must understand that he is accused, and the nature of the charges; that he is the subject of proceedings; that there is a judge, and the role of the judge; that there are lawyers, which lawyers, and be able to communicate with his lawyer to give him instructions.”

He added that this was not the same thing as determining whether the suspect was actually criminally responsible, which requires a different test.

Neighbours say suspect was a doting father

06:08 , Io Dodds

We now have a little more detail on the suspect, bus driver Pierre Ny St-Amand.

Appearing before a court on Wednesday afternoon with cuts and swellings on his face, Mr St-Amand said nothing, only responding to the judge’s questions by nodding.

However, an officer guarding him said that he was “not co-operating”, at one point pausing the hearing because Mr St-Amand had tried to hit him.

Public records show that he arrived in Quebec from Cambodia when he was 11 years old, and neighbours described him as a doting father in what seemed to be “a happy family”.

“They had so many barbecues with others from their community,” local resident Nawal Ghanen told The Toronto Star. She said the man often worked in his backyard or played with his daughters there.

Mrs Ghanen’s husband Elias Chahade said: “I’m in shock. The last time it snowed, last Thursday or Friday, he was outside shovelling and I was shovelling here. He said good morning and I said good morning. Then he took his bike and left.”

Tributes left at local Catholic church

05:01 , Io Dodds

Tributes have also been laid out for the victims outside the Sainte-Rose-de-Lima Catholic church in Laval.

Radio Canada reporter Pascal Robidas posted pictures of candles, soft toys, and a few flowers lined up outside the door to the church, saying it had become “a gathering place” for mourners.

The church is about twenty minutes’ walk away from the Saint-Rose daycare where the bus struck, along the bank of the Thousand Islands River that marks the western edge of the island on which Laval is situated.

‘It was deliberate’, says witness

03:49 , Io Dodds

A witness who helped stop the suspect getting away as he tried to flee has said the crash “can’t be an accident”.

Mario Sirois, who lives just next to the daycare centre, told The Toronto Star: “There were no signs of skid marks. It was deliberate. He went directly into the daycare.”

His wife Ginette Lamoureux, who was inside the daycare, said: “The children were screaming and crying, they were all in a room… a mother arrived and collapsed. The policewoman was trying to calm her down. I left, I was no longer able.”

What do we know about the bus’s movements?

02:56 , Io Dodds

Based on aerial photos and media reports, it is hard to see how the crash could have happened inadvertently if the bus was running its normal route.

According to The Toronto Star, the bus – following route number 151 – would usually drive down a long, quiet road before entering a cul-de-sac and coming back the other way.

Instead, on Wednesday morning, the bus seems to have turned sharply right into the daycare’s car park, drove straight across the lot, and struck the daycare itself, just to the right of its main entrance.

“It’s my hometown,” said Christopher Skeete, who represents the area in Quebec’s National Assembly. “You drop your kids off at the daycare and you expect you’re going to be able to go and pick them up.

“I think everybody who’s listening today should hold their kids a little tighter. It’s a sad day.”

Flowers laid at the scene of the tragedy

01:50 , Io Dodds

Many people came to place flowers near the daycare centre where the crash happened on Wednesday.

Pictures from the scene showed bouquets and soft toys laid in the snow or on the front hoods of police cars, not only as a tribute to the dead but a sign of solidarity with the staff.

One man told Radio Canada that he felt “anger” and “rage” at the thought that someone would intentionally try to hurt children.

A member of the public brings tributes to the Garderie Educative Sainte-Rose in Laval, Quebec, February 2023 (Evan Buhler/REUTERS)

A young child pays tribute to the victims of the Laval daycare crash in February 2023 (Evan Buhler/REUTERS)

Flags at half mast, lights extinguished

00:53 , Io Dodds

The flag of Quebec will be flown at half mast above the province’s National Assembly from dawn until tomorrow, prime minister François Legault has said.

The lights on Montreal Tower, originally constructed for the 1976 summer Olympics, will also be extinguished this evening, as with the lights of Montreal’s city hall.

“All of Quebec is in mourning… all my heart [is] with the victims and their loved ones,” Mr Legault said.

The premier will visit the daycare centre in Laval tomorrow to pay his respects, along with leaders of all Quebec’s three main opposition parties.

Prosecutors say driver is mentally fit to stand trial

Wednesday 8 February 2023 22:59 , Io Dodds

Bus driver Pierre Ny St-Amand has now appeared in court, via video link from the Sacred Heart Hospital in Montreal.

According to Radio Canada, Mr St-Armand did not speak at all, only nodding to answer questions from Judge Serge Cimon.

Prosecutor Karine Dalphond told reporters that the accused will be transferred to a mental health hospital to undergo psychiatric evaluation, but this will only assess his dangerousness and not his fitness to stand trial.

“What we could have asked for, the Crown or the defence, is an assessment of his level of aptitude or responsibility,” she said. “But at this stage, there is no reason to ask for this kind of order.”

Mr St-Amand is charged with two premeditated murders, a number of attempted murders, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of assault causing bodily harm.

‘I saw patrol officers in tears this morning’

Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:55 , Io Dodds

Police officers were brought to “tears” by the situation they found at the Laval daycare, the town’s police department has said.

According to Radio Canada reporter Angie Landry, a police spokesman said: “I saw patrol officers in tears this morning. When we are patrollers, we are ready to face many situations, but when they are children, it is difficult.”

Daycare children will be moved to other facilities

Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:28 , Io Dodds

All children who attend the daycare centre will be relocated to other daycares no more than five miles away beginning from tomorrow, Quebecois family minister Suzanne Roy has confirmed.

She added that affected families can call +1 855-336-8568 for more information.

‘Don’t confuse hatred with mental illness’

Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:03 , Io Dodds

A psychiatrist in Montreal has warned the public and the media not to leap to any conclusions about the driver’s mental state.

Marie-Eve Cotton, a clinical professor at the University of Montreal and a mental health columnist, posted on Facebook earlier today: “Please do not diagnose mental illness until a psychiatrist assesses the bus driver and makes a decision.”

Early reports have described the driver as seeming to be “in another world”, stripping naked after exiting the crashed bus and yelling incoherently.

But Dr Cotton notes that after a spate of stabbings near Quebec’s parliament building in 2020, “everyone cried schizophrenia”. Although the perpetrator argued in court that he was suffering from psychosis, a jury eventually convicted him of first degree murder.

“Hatred is not a mental illness. Continually confusing the two stigmatises people with mental illnesses, who are more at risk of being abused than being violent,” Dr Cotton went on.

Officials have said they do not yet know the motive for this incident.

Six children in hospital, including two in critical care

Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:37 , Io Dodds

Here’s what hospital officials have said about the situation.

Dr Marc Girard, a spokesperson for St Justine’s Children’s Hospital in Montreal, said it had admitted two boys and two girls, all between the ages of three and five, with “various types of trauma”, according to local broadcaster CTV News.

The hospital issued a code orange alert to free up resources, and one of the children is now in intensive care. Mr Girard said that their lives are not in danger.

Two more children with more serious injuries were sent to another hospital in Laval.

“It is very difficult to see how situation will evolve in young children, but we want to make sure that they go back to their normal lives,” Mr Girard said.

Justin Trudeau mourns ‘the biggest nightmare imaginable’

Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:15 , Io Dodds

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has made a statement about the incident in Parliament.

“I can’t imagine what these families are going through now. The families and loved ones of the two children we lost, and the others who are seriously injured, it is […] the biggest nightmare imaginable for all parents,” Mr Trudeau said before beginning the daily ministerial questions period.

“We will be there for the days, months and years of mourning to come.”

The House observed a minute of silence at the beginning of the question session in honour of the victims and their families.

Bus driver to appear in court today

Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:07 , Io Dodds

The alleged bus driver Pierre Ny St-Amand will appear before court via a video link late this afternoon local time, Radio Canada reports.

Officials say he will be charged with dangerous driving and murder.

Quebec premier to visit tragic scene

Wednesday 8 February 2023 19:51 , Io Dodds

Quebec’s prime minister François Legault will travel to the scene of the tragedy tomorrow.

“I will be going to Laval tomorrow, accompanied by the leaders of the opposition parties, to offer my full support to the families and staff affected by this terrible tragedy,” Mr Legault announced this afternoon.

“There is nothing more cruel than attacking our children. I keep thinking of the families and loved ones of the children who died, as well as those injured.

“I take this opportunity to highlight the work of the police, firefighters, paramedics and health personnel.”

According to Radio Canada, two Quebec government ministers and the area’s representative in Quebec’s National Assembly have urgently left the legislature building to support the affected families.

CN Tower will dim its lights in tribute

Wednesday 8 February 2023 19:28 , Io Dodds

The CN Tower in Toronto, Canada will turn off its lights tonight in a tribute to the victims of the bus crash, its managers have announced.

The tower is a world-famous landmark of Canada’s biggest city, and the tallest free-standing land structure in the Western Hemisphere.

Bus driver’s Facebook page shows ordinary family life

Wednesday 8 February 2023 19:05 , Io Dodds

These photos come from what appears to be the Facebook profile of bus driver Pierre Ny St-Amand.

The profile does not offer much detail, at least for users who are not friends. Fields for work, education, location, contact details, and other details appear blank.

The only photos visible depict an ordinary family life: St-Amand, his partner, and two young children posing for a photo outside a ski lodge in January 2020, and at a flower garden around the same time.

At least for now, The Independent has blurred the faces of the other people in the photos to protect their identities.

A picture apparently showing Pierre Ny St-Amand with his partner and child in January 2020 (Pierre Ny St-Amand via Facebook)

A picture apparently showing Pierre Ny St-Amand at a ski lodge in January 2020 (Pierre Ny St-Amand via Facebook)

What do we know about the driver?

Wednesday 8 February 2023 18:44 , Io Dodds

Police sources have identified the driver as 51-year-old Pierre Ny St-Amand, according to the several Quebecois news outlets.

He reportedly has no prior criminal record, and Laval mayor Stephane Boyer said that he had been employed by STL for about ten years.

This is the picture that Quebecois outlets are carrying:

Pierre Ny St-Amand, the alleged driver of a bus that crashed into a daycare centre in Quebec on 8 February 2023 (Handout)

PHOTOS: Parents greet children after bus crash

Wednesday 8 February 2023 18:10 , Gustaf Kilander

A couple escorts a child from a daycare centre after a city bus crashed into the facility in Laval, Quebec, Wednesday, Feb.8, 2023 (AP)

A woman carries a child from a daycare centre after a city bus crashed into the facility in Laval, Quebec, Wednesday, Feb.8, 2023 (AP)

Laval, Canada, Police secure the scene where a city bus (C) crashed into a day care center on February 8, 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

Parents and their children are loaded onto a warming bus as they wait for news after a bus crashed into a daycare centre in Laval, Quebec, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023 (AP)

Parents wait for news after a bus crashed into a daycare centre in Laval, Quebec, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023 (AP)

Parents and their children are loaded onto a warming bus as they wait for news after a bus crashed into a daycare centre in Laval, Quebec, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023 (AP)

Laval, Canada, Police secure the scene where a city bus crashed into a day care center on February 8, 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

‘He was totally naked’: Witness describes driver as being ‘in another world’

Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:55 , Gustaf Kilander

Hamdi Ben Chaabane lives in the area where the crash took place.

“From what I saw, it wasn’t an accident,” he told CBC.

He said the driver exited the vehicle after the crash and started acting unpredictably.

“He opened the door. He took off all his clothes. He was totally naked,” the witness said. “We don’t know why he did that. We dove on him. We tried to subdue him.”

He said the driver seemed to be “in another world.”

“It was a nightmare. It’s horrible. He didn’t stop yelling. He wasn’t saying words,” he said.

Two children dead, six injured after bus crashes into Quebec daycare

Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:45 , Graig Graziosi

Two children were killed and six others hurt after a city bus drove into a day care in Laval, Quebec, according to police.

The bus driver, a 51-year-old man, has been arrested and charged with homicide and dangerous driving.

According to a Laval police spokesperson, the bus owned by the Société de transport de Laval drove into the daycare around 8:30am on Wednesday.

The spokesperson said two children were confirmed dead and six others were injured and have been hospitalised, but they are expected to survive.

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Two children dead, six injured after bus crashes into Quebec daycare