2 children dead, 6 injured after bus crashes into daycare center in Canada

OTTAWA -- Two children were dead and six others were seriously injured after a city bus crashed into a daycare center Wednesday morning in Laval, north of Montreal, Canada, local media reported.

According to Urgences-santé, 12 people needed medical care, eight others were transported to area hospitals. The incident took place at the Garderie éducative Sainte-Rose on Dufferin Terrace in Laval's Sainte-Rose district shortly after 8:30 am local time, and the bus was from the Société de transport de Laval (STL), the reports said.

According to the reports, the driver of the bus, a 51-year-old man who was employed by the STL, was arrested and charged with homicide and dangerous driving.

Hamdi Ben Chaabane, who lives in the neighborhood and witnessed the crash, was quoted as saying that the bus was traveling 30 or 40 kilometers per hour when it struck the daycare.

Stéphane Boyer, the mayor of Laval, said the driver had been employed by the STL for 10 years or so but didn't have any prior incidents on his record.

The daycare center usually accommodates between 80 and 85 children, the reports said.