Police are shown outside the home of Pierre Ny St-Amand in Laval, Que., Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. The man accused of killing two young children when the bus he was driving slammed into a suburban daycare will undergo a further evaluation to determine his criminal responsibility. Pierre Ny St-Amand made an appearance today in a courtroom in Laval, just north of Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
LAVAL, Que. – The Quebec man accused of killing two young children when the city bus he was driving slammed into a Montreal-area daycare has been judged fit to stand trial.
Pierre Ny St-Amand made an appearance today in a courtroom in Laval, Que., where his lawyer said that a psychiatric evaluation requested last week found the accused mentally able to participate in the criminal case.
Defence lawyer Julien L’Esperance Hudon today requested an evaluation of his client’s criminal responsibility – whether the accused was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the alleged crime. That request was accepted by the judge.
The 51-year-old driver with the Laval transit corporation was arrested Feb. 8 after a bus he was driving crashed into the front of a daycare in the Ste-Rose neighbourhood, killing two four-year-olds and injuring six other children.
He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder as well as seven other charges, including attempted murder and aggravated assault.
The evaluation will take place at a Montreal psychiatric hospital, and the case will return before a judge on March 28.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2023.
