A 70-year-old man is facing charges after an SUV crashed into a daycare north of Toronto on Wednesday, killing a toddler and injuring six other children.
The man, who was arrested at the scene in Richmond Hill, Ont., is facing one count of dangerous driving causing death and one count of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, said York Regional Police.
Following the crash, police said the boy who died was just 1 1/2 years old. The other children, ranging in age from 18 months to three years old, were brought to hospital with a range of injuries.
One of the injured children was still in critical condition at the hospital as of Thursday morning, police said.
Three adult staff members were also hurt at the daycare located near Yonge Street and Nottingham Drive.
Investigators said Wednesday that the crash did not appear to have been intentional, and they have not yet indicated what could have triggered the incident during the afternoon pickup time.
Police are not sharing the name of the suspect "to protect any victims or witnesses involved in this incident," a York Regional Police spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The man was scheduled for a bail hearing Thursday morning at the Newmarket, Ont., courthouse.
A Hyundai electric vehicle was pulled through the shattered window of the daycare and loaded onto a tow truck on Wednesday evening. It showed little visible damage aside from a dangling licence plate and broken glass on its hood.
On Thursday morning, the large window was boarded up with plywood and other pieces of lumber.
Just beneath it, a collection of stuffed animals sat facing the parking lot. Residents had also dropped off bouquets of flowers, a mini basketball and a candle.
A sign that read "please slow down" remained mounted on the wall next to the crash site.
Emirson Bekirovski was at work when he got a message from the daycare about an emergency that required him to pick up his four-year-old daughter.
"My wife came and she was pretty traumatized to see all the helicopters and the police cars," Bekirovski said, adding that parents did not get much information as to what was happening other than instructions to bring their kids home.
"We're obviously very happy that our daughter's with us and safe, but obviously we're pretty traumatized at the fact this happened so close to home," he said.
Ruth Brainis, a local resident and mother of two small children, said she was "devastated" and sick to her stomach when she heard of the crash.
Brainis attended the site on Thursday morning to lay flowers and pay her respects to the affected families.
"When it's children, it hits really hard," she said. "I can't imagine the suffering these poor parents are going through. I don't wish it on anybody."
Hava Jouharchi has been a resident of Richmond Hill for more than 25 years and said she didn't know what to think when she heard about the crash at the daycare her children once attended.
"My son was just passing by here like 10 minutes before it happened, and so that's how I found out," Jouharchi said.
"We don't have anything like this happen and I was just shocked."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Maan Alhmidi
