Laval daycare crash: Bus driver found not criminally responsible for tragedy in which children died
Montreal Crime
By
Pierre Ny St-Amand, the man who drove a Laval city bus into a daycare, killing two children and seriously injuring six others, was found not criminally responsible for his actions due to a mental health problem.
While reading from parts of a lengthy decision at the Laval courthouse Tuesday, Justice Éric Downs said the court was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that St-Amand, 53, was suffering from a psychosis on Feb. 8, 2023, when he crashed the bus into the daycare.
'It is recognized that the accused committed the acts. It is recognized that, at the moment, the accused had mental health problems that rendered him not criminally responsible according to the Criminal Code,' Downs said, ordering that St-Amand remain detained at the Philippe Pinel Institute, a psychiatric hospital, for the time being. 'His movements will not be free. He is detained.'
Earlier this month, Downs heard testimony from two psychiatrists who agreed that St-Amand was in a state of psychosis when the tragedy occurred.
The judge made several references to what psychiatrist Kim Bédard-Charrette said in court and in a detailed report filed to the court. Before the crash, St-Amand was preparing to marry a woman he had been in a relationship with for a long time. This involved having to provide documents he did not have to a notary, causing stress that, according to the psychiatrists, opened doors to a very traumatic past he had tried to forget.
He was born in Cambodia in 1972, shortly before the Khmer Rouge began its totalitarian and violent rule of the country, between 1975 and 1979. The Khmer Rouge killed hundreds of thousands of their political opponents.
St-Amand's parents were killed and he was moved from one refugee camp to another while being looked after by a cousin. The cousin also was killed. In 1982, he was sent to Canada by a humanitarian agency with no documents concerning his past and was adopted by a family in Quebec.
On the court record, St-Amand's date of birth is recorded as Jan. 1, 1972, but when he arrived in Canada, there was no record of when he was actually born.
'He wanted to kill himself, or destroy his past or destroy the base of his past,' said Downs, quoting Sylvain Faucher, the other psychiatrist who evaluated St-Amand.
The judge will later hear arguments on how St-Amand should be detained in the future. The Crown has asked that he be declared a 'high risk' to public security.
Downs said he will hear statements on Thursday from the families of the children who were killed or injured.
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