February 08, 2023, Montreal: Police charged a 51-year-old bus driver Wednesday with first-degree murder after a bus crashed into a daycare in a suburb north of Montreal, killing two children and injuring six.
Pierre Ny St-Amand, an employee of Laval’s municipal transport agency, appeared in court via video on Wednesday.
Police say the bus crashed into the daycare at about 8:30 a.m. Witness photographs and aerial shots of the scene show the bus had driven straight through the parking lot and plowed into the building, making an impact to the right of the main entrance.
Police questioned St-Amand at Montreal’s Sacred Heart Hospital on Wednesday afternoon, said Crown prosecutor Karine Dalphond. Police gave no motive, but Wednesday afternoon, he was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault and four counts of assault with a weapon.
Hamdi Benchaabane, who lived next to the daycare, Garderie Éducative Ste-Rose, told Montreal’s La Presse the bus was travelling quickly. LavBenchaabane said the driver got out of the bus quickly and began taking off his clothes.
“He took off his pants and his underwear. It was chaotic. He wanted to get away, but me and some fathers from the daycare we jumped on him. He was screaming and didn’t want to give up. To tell you honestly, we had to hit him to get him under control.”
Laval police Chief Pierre Brochet refused to comment on the mental or physical state of the suspect. “It’s dangerous, risky because false information can undermine the investigation,” he said.
Police secure the scene where a city bus crashed into a daycare centre in Laval on Wednesday. The driver was arrested. A police spokesperson said the injuries to the six children were not life-threatening. They were being treated in two local hospitals.
Police and city officials declined to say whether the bus was travelling along its normally scheduled route at the time of the crash. Normally, the 151 bus travels north along Terrace Dufferin, a long, straight, quiet road, passing a school, parks and homes before turning at a cul-de-sac and doubling back.
On Wednesday morning, it appears, the bus made a sharp right turn into the parking lot of the daycare, which has spots for 80 children, and made deadly impact.
Throughout the day, municipal and provincial officials dropped by to express their concern for the children, the daycare workers and the families affected by the incident.
“It’s my riding. It’s my hometown,” said Christopher Skeete, who represents the riding of Sainte-Rose in the Quebec legislature. “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.”
A child places flowers near the daycare centre in Laval where two kids were killed.
Mario Sirois, another man who lives next to the daycare, 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’s 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.”
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,” Benchaabane said of what he witnessed. “It was horrible.”
Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer said the driver has worked for the transit agency for about 10 years and had no incidents of note on his file.
Via video feed, St-Amand refused to address court Wednesday afternoon. He has a cut under his nose and possible swelling to the left side of his face.
An officer guarding him told the hearing he is physically fine but his mental health is in question. But after a pause in the court hearing, the police officer reported that St-Amand had attempted to hit him. “He’s not co-operating,” the officer reported.
Doctors want a psychiatric evaluation for St-Amand. He is set to return to court on Feb. 17. On the residential Laval street when St-Amand lives with his wife and two children, neighbours received news of the killings with shock.
The family who lived next door described St-Amand, his wife and two young daughters as a close family and him as a doting father.
Public records show St-Amand arrived in Quebec from Cambodia at the age of 11. The hub for the Laval bus service is located a short distance from the family home.
Earlier Wednesday, Quebec Premier François Legault said his thoughts are with the children and their families, as well as with the employees of the daycare. “We are going to give the parents all the help we can, and as a father, I am shaken.” Legault’s said on Twitter that he would visit Laval on Thursday.
In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said federal officials are following the situation closely. “Our thoughts are with families in Laval who are living incredibly difficult moments.”
