Questions swirl after Laval, Que. bus crash. Here’s what we know so far
2 years ago
Laval #Laval
Montreal
Police say a 51-year-old bus driver drove a city bus at speed into a daycare north of Montreal on Wednesday morning, killing two children and injuring six more.
Bus driver Pierre Ny St-Amand, 51, faces 9 charges, including 1st-degree murderMatthew Lapierre · CBC News · Posted: Feb 09, 2023 1:54 PM EST | Last Updated: February 9Late Wednesday, authorities had the Laval transit bus towed away from the daycare it had crashed into that morning. (Christine Muschi/Reuters)
WARNING: This article contains distressing details.
Authorities say a bus crash at a Laval daycare on Wednesday was a deliberate act, but police say they do not yet know what motivated it.
Two children are dead. Six others were hospitalized yesterday but two of them have since been discharged. None of the children have been identified by authorities.
The event has shocked people across Quebec as they try to make sense of what happened and why.
Here’s what we know so far about how the incident occurred and the man arrested on the scene:
The incident
The bus hit the daycare, Garderie Éducative de Sainte-Rose, around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, according to Laval police.
The daycare is situated on Terrasse Dufferin, at the end of a dead end where there is a roundabout and a bus stop. The daycare is set back approximately 40m from the road.
The city bus was part of the Société de transport de Laval (STL) fleet. It smashed down the exterior wall of the daycare on impact, which threatened to collapse parts of the roof.
Numerous police cars, ambulances and firefighters arrived on the scene within minutes.
Police arrested the suspected driver, who had been subdued by parents.
Firefighters attempted to extricate children who were stuck beneath the rubble.
Paramedics rushed seven children to local hospitals, one of whom later died. Another child died on the scene.
Officials towed the bus out of the daycare late Wednesday evening. Police are treating the area as a crime scene.
Scene in front of daycare in Laval on Thursday, the day after a transit bus crashed into the building, killing two children and injuring six more. (Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada)The suspect
A neighbour said the driver of the bus emerged from the vehicle after the crash and began tearing off his clothes and yelling incoherently.
Police identified him as Pierre Ny St-Amand, 51.
Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer said St-Amand was an STL employee for about 10 years.
He drove the 151 bus route — which runs between Montreal’s Côte-Vertu Metro station and Laval’s Sainte-Rose neighbourhood, and stopped near the daycare — according to Radio-Canada. He was working on Wednesday morning, according to the STL.
The Quebec association of private daycares told Radio-Canada there was no known link between the suspect and the daycare.
Lionel Carmant, the minister responsible for social services, said St-Amand was not on a waiting list to receive mental health services.
Laval police were at the home of the suspect, Pierre Ny St-Amand, late Wednesday, investigating the incident. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)The investigation and legal process
St-Amand is facing nine charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon causing bodily harm.
He appeared in court on Wednesday via a video link from a hospital bed in Montreal’s Sacré-Cœur hospital.
The appearance was delayed as officers in the room struggled to control St-Amand. He nodded his head during the appearance and a doctor requested that he undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine his level of “dangerousness,” but the judge did not order one.
The Crown prosecutor and the defence agreed he was fit enough to continue the trial process.
He is next scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 17.
Neighbours described St-Amand as calm and normal.
Laval police said they are still investigating and do not know the motive behind the crash.
WATCH | Parents explain ‘horrible’ scene after crash :Parent describes ‘chaos’ of Laval daycare bus crash aftermathNathalie Vaillancourt describes the scene at a daycare after a bus crashed into the building Wednesday morning.ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matthew Lapierre is a digital journalist at CBC Montreal. He previously worked for the Montreal Gazette and the Globe and Mail. You can reach him at matthew.lapierre@cbc.ca.
