Driver charged after bus driven into Montreal daycare, killing 2 and injuring 6

LAVAL, Que.—Police charged a 51-year-old bus driver Wednesday with homicide after a bus crashed into a daycare in a suburb north of Montreal, killing two children and injuring six.

The driver has been identified as Pierre Ny St-Amand, an employee of Laval’s municipal transport agency.

Police say that the bus crashed into the front of 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 impact to the right of the main entrance.

Police say they are still questioning the driver and conducting an investigation of the crime scene, but have given no motive for the terrible act.

“He was driving quickly,” Hamdi Benchaabane, who lived next to the daycare, told Montreal’s La Presse.

Benchaabane 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.

A police spokesperson said the injuries to the six children were not life-threatening.

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.”

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’ 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.”

Allan Woods is a Montreal-based staff reporter for the Star. He covers global and national affairs. Follow him on Twitter: @WoodsAllan

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