Laval, Que. community grieving, still in shock in wake of fatal bus crash into daycare
CBC
A state of shock is still palpable in a Laval, Que., community, where residents are reeling after a transit driver crashed a bus into a daycare Wednesday, killing two children and injuring six more.
The fatal crash left parents scrambling to find their kids shortly after they dropped them off at the Garderie Éducative de Sainte-Rose in the Sainte-Rose neighbourhood on Terrasse Dufferin.
Two children who were rushed to hospital after the accident have been discharged, the Sainte-Justine Hospital confirmed early Thursday morning, while the four others still hospitalized are in stable condition.
Sébastien Courtois, the father of a four-and-a-half-year-old boy who was taken to hospital, said his wife arrived at the scene and saw their son lying on a table.
"He was conscious and he recognized his mom and his first question was, 'Why did he do it?'" Courtois said.
It's a question authorities still don't have an answer to.
Police say Pierre Ny St-Amand, 51, a bus driver with the Société de transport de Laval (STL), crashed the Laval city bus into the daycare around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Witnesses say St-Amand was acting delirious after exiting the bus, tearing off his clothes and screaming as several people restrained him on the ground before police arrived.
WATCH | Drone footage of where the bus struck:
He was arrested at the scene and is facing nine charges, including two counts of first-degree murder.
On Wednesday afternoon, he appeared in court virtually while lying in a hospital bed. His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 17.
Charbel Fares had just dropped his children off at an elementary school down the street from the daycare when his neighbour said "something just happened near the school."
He immediately ran back to check that his kids were OK.
"Of course when you hear about something, I go to the school directly to see my children. It's a normal reaction. Your muscles and all your body they…you cannot explain," he said.
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