Court views video of moment bus crashes into Quebec daycare, killing two children

A Quebec courtroom watched with a mixture of tears and horrified silence on Monday as a video was shown of the moment a city bus rammed into a daycare.

A Quebec courtroom watched with a mixture of tears and horrified silence on Monday as a video was shown of the moment a city bus rammed into a Montreal-area daycare, killing two children and injuring six more.

The video, filmed by cameras inside the bus, shows the crash from the perspective of driver Pierre Ny St-Amand as he made a hard turn into the driveway of the Laval, Que., daycare and accelerated, engines revving, into the building’s side.

The video cuts out after the impact, and in the courtroom the sound of crying broke the silence.

Ny St-Amand, 53, was arrested after the bus he was driving crashed into the front of the daycare on Feb. 8, 2023, killing a four-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl. He is facing two counts of second-degree murder, as well as charges of assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm in relation to six other children who were injured.

Both the Crown and defence have told the Quebec Superior Court judge that he should be found not criminally responsible for his actions.

Prosecutor Karine Dalphond told the court in February that the Crown and defence would present the facts of Ny St-Amand’s case jointly, after two experts independently concluded he should not be held criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.

Ny St-Amand, who wore a grey sweater and appeared with his hands handcuffed in front of him, watched calmly on Monday as video of the crash played on a television suspended from the ceiling. Earlier, as the trial opened, he stood as the charges were read and, in a low voice, confirmed his not guilty plea.

In a summary of facts read by a prosecutor, the court heard that Ny St-Amand never hit the brakes as he headed down the driveway.