Quebec bus driver in fatal daycare crash found not criminally responsible

Pierre Ny St-Amand, the 53-year-old man who crashed a bus into a daycare in Laval, Que., has been found not criminally responsible for his actions.

Both the Crown and the defence recommended Ny St-Amand be found not criminally responsible during a trial held before a judge.

“In light of the evidence that was presented jointly, that was neither contradicted nor contested, it is undeniable that the bus driven by Pierre Ny St-Amand crashed into the daycare,” Quebec Superior Court Justice Éric Downs said in his decision.

“The court is convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused was dealing with mental health issues, namely psychosis, at the time of the event.”

Ny St-Amand rammed the bus into the Laval daycare on Feb. 8, 2023, killing a four-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl. After the crash, Ny St-Amand stood inside the mangled bus and undressed, speaking and yelling incoherently before being subdued by parents on the scene.

He was charged with 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.

Downs said that this decision doesn’t acquit or absolve Ny St-Amand. But he acknowledged that his ruling won’t help understand why the tragedy happened. 

The parents of children who were part of the tragedy were in the room and burst into tears after hearing the ruling. 

They had previously expressed frustration that there would not be a jury trial and that they weren’t heard during this process. 

But Downs said that a jury trial would have come to the same conclusion. 

Downs based his decision on the testimony presented by two psychiatrists who independently concluded that Ny St-Amand was suffering from a mental disorder when the incident happened and was incapable of discerning right from wrong at the time of the crash. 

One psychiatrist testified that Ny St-Amand had untreated post-traumatic stress disorder from his childhood as an orphan in war-torn Cambodia and might have targeted the daycare as a way of “killing his own past.”

Some parents, felt Ny St-Amand was being painted as a victim during the trial and said everyone has a past to deal with.

Parents will have a chance to be heard on Thursday when they deliver victim-impact statements in court.

The Crown has indicated it will seek to have Ny St-Amand declared a “high-risk accused,” a designation that would require he face stricter rules around absences from any treatment facility.

WATCH | What does it mean when someone is found not criminally responsible:

What does it mean when someone is found not criminally responsible in a trial?

The defence team in the trial of Jeremy Skibicki are arguing in a Winnipeg courtroom this week that he should be found not criminally responsible. But what does that mean and what are the consequences for the accused? CBC reporter Caitlyn Gowriluk explains.