Two children killed in Canada after bus driver rams into daycare centre
Two children were killed near Montreal, Canada after a bus driver rammed into a daycare centre.
Police arrested the driver after suspecting him of deliberately causing the accident. One child reportedly died at the scene and another while in the ambulance. Several children were trapped under the bus when it slammed into the building in the suburb of Laval at about 8:30 am yesterday.
According to the South China Morning Post, six other children were transported to a hospital and are now being considered “out of danger.”
Laval police spokeswoman, Erika Landry, says the crash appeared to be deliberate.
“We think that this is deliberate, but we don’t know the motive.”
She added that police are questioning 51 year old Pierre Ny St-Amand who has no prior criminal record. Police say he is being charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, assault causing bodily harm and aggravated assault.
He appeared in court via video from a hospital room with police saying he will remain in custody. He is reportedly an employee of the Laval municipality’s public transit system.
One father told Radio Canada that he helped subdue the driver when he got off the bus. His wife says the man was half-naked and both of them saw him “ram deliberately into the daycare.”
Witnesses say the driver stepped out of the bus immediately after the crash, ripped his clothes off and started screaming. They say he was just yelling inaudible words and appeared to be in a different world.
Meanwhile, a Canadian government senior official says the crash was not an act of terrorism and did not pose a threat to national security.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he couldn’t imagine what the families are going through. But if there was anything the federal government could do, it will be there.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault tweeted about the incident.
“What a terrible tragedy this morning in Laval. There is nothing worse than being afraid for your child. I am thinking of the children, the parents and the employees.”
